Alone Once More
by Hagetaka
Summary: After defeating Majora over Termina, Link finds that the passage back to Hyrule has been sealed. Wanting to return home, his journey takes him through lands that nobody has ever traveled to and returned from.
1. Chapter 0: The Lonely Hero

Chapter 0: the lonely Hero

Link felt a pang of regret as he watched Tatl leave with the skull kid. He had wished that they might have been able to stay together after saving Clock Town, but she had chosen instead to resume her travels with her and her brother's friend.

Alone once again, Link returned to the clock tower. The heavy door at the bottom of the interior seemed to be taunting him, with his world just out of reach behind the massive stone panel. It was a futile wish, anyway. Even if he could make his way past the door, he would have to find a way to navigate the massive columns with his horse, Epona. The evil power of the mask that had sent the horse to Termina was no more, but Link had to admit to himself that it would have been handy if he could have just used the ancient power of the mask to blast though the door.

Thinking of the power that had been held by Majora, Link thought about the other powerful masks he had encountered throughout the time he had been in Termina. Most of his masks had been given away to the children of the Moon, but Link still retained his four most powerful masks. One of them was the last remaining evidence of the curse that had been placed on Link, while two others contained the spirits of people who had given their lives against the power of Majora.

The final mask worried him the most. Given to him by Majora itself, the Fierce Deity's mask had no trace of the benevolent spirits within the other three. Instead, putting it on filled Link with rage and agony, so much that he had resolved after defeating Majora that he would never put it on again, unless in a dire emergency. As much as he wanted to pass through the stone door separating him from his homeland, he was afraid that putting the mask on would cause him to lose control of his sanity and restraint. In the busy region of Clock Town, such loss of control would be disasterous.

There was no guarantee that the Fierce Deity had the power to break through the stone, anyway. The power of a goron hadn't even left a dent in the door, nor had anything else Link had tried. He had been on the verge of detonating a powder keg underneath the clock tower, but something held him back. Even if he could somehow find a way back to Hyrule, there was nothing he could do there. Ganondorf would spend the next seven years conquering Hyrule, and nothing Link could do that he hadn't already done would stop that, literally. He didn't fully understand the concept himself, but in order to ensure his own success in the future, he couldn't interfere in any way while the evil king took control of Hyrule.

As he walked back though the streets of South Clock Town, Link decided that he would find his own way back, alone. There was nothing urgent waiting anywhere for him, and if he should happen to find a lead on his quest while he was searching for a way to return, so much the better.


	2. Chapter 1: Preparations for a Journey

Chapter 1: Preparations for a Journey

That night Link stayed at the Stock Pot Inn. The usual innkeeper, Anju, was not there. The inn was instead managed by Anju's mother, who seemed to have no trouble managing the inn now that the festival was finished. After he was settled into his room, Link began making plans for his upcoming journey. The outlook was not good.

Termina did not seem to be a very accessible area. The northern and western ends of the region were mountainous and impassable. Steep cliffs likewise made traveling south along the shore to the east impractical. Had Link been traveling alone, the ocean might have been his best bet at getting out of the area, as he could have just hired a ship to take him somewhere. This option was rejected because it would have meant leaving Epona in Termina, as most ship captains objected to transporting horses on their ships. It was a moot point anyway, because Link had yet to encounter any ships that ever traveled more than a short distance from the coast.

Link's only remaining option would not be easy. It involved going south to the Woodfall Swamp and attempting to find a safe passage through. With luck, he could get help from the inhabitants of the regions, but the Deku Scrubs who ruled a kingdom in the area had a history of being unfriendly to outsiders. The monkeys, although helpful, frequently got on Link's nerves, and Link would prefer to deal with them as little as possible. That left the possibility of receiving help from Kotake and Koume, the twin witches who made a living by selling potions in the area. Despite his inherent distrust of the two, Link concluded that if anybody could help him to return home, it would be them.

With the route decided, Link next made sure that he was properly equipped for such an expedition. In addition to the food he would have to carry, it would probably be a good idea if he also brought with his own supply of water. While the waters of the swamp had been cleansed of the poison that had once polluted them, he had no guarantee that the deepest reaches of the swamp were also as clean. He also had no clue as to what the terrain that might be like beyond the swamp, so it would probably be a good idea to be prepared. Link would also need to stock up with arrows, bombs, and other such things that he had used up in the final fight.

Luckily, link had amassed a small fortune in while living the same three days over and over again. The West Clock Town Bank currently had in it's vault around five thousand rupees belonging to Link. That would be more than enough for Link to restock all of his weapons with as much ammunition as he could carry. After restocking, he should have at least 500 rupees, which he had found out was the most he could possibly cram into his wallet.

With his journey planned, Link spent the rest of the night going over the equipment that he already had. His bow, sword, and shield were in excellent condition, as was his Hookshot, although he wished that he still had the one he had used while in Hyrule. He did not test his bombs or bombchus, but examined them and determined that there appeared to be nothing wrong with them. Everything was indicating towards a smooth and uneventful journey.


	3. Chapter 2: Fairies and Witches

Chapter 2: Fairies and Witches

The next morning, Link carried out his equipment shopping. He spent the afternoon and evening practicing with his sword, and retired to bed early in preparation for an early start. He had not told anybody about his decision to leave Clock Town, but instead planned on leaving quietly and without warning, just like he had appeared. If anybody noticed that he seemed tense or edgy in anticipation of unforeseen trouble, they said nothing and acted as if they saw nothing. Link was practically a stranger to them anyway, so they were not yet used to his personal habits.

The following day, just two days after he had made the decision to leave, Link got up early in the morning. He retrieved the packs he had prepared the night before and quietly left the Stock Pot Inn. The streets of East Clock Town were deserted as Link headed for the gate out of the city. Even the soldier who was supposed to be guarding the gate was dozing at his post, confident that the town was safe now that the moon was gone.

Outside in Termina Field, Link climbed to the top of a stone pillar near the town. Well out of reach of the Blue Bubbles that sometimes appeared in the field before the sunrise, Link pulled out his most valuable possession: the Ocarina of Time. As an artifact belonging to the Hyrule royal family, the ocarina held not only a high monetary value but also had great personal value to Link, as it had been personally entrusted to him by Princess Zelda. Holding it in his hand with the first rays of the morning sun beginning to peek through the mountains of the Ikana Canyon, Link became flooded with memories of his last meeting with the Princess. He was nearly overwhelmed by thoughts of sadness as he realized that he would not be able to see Zelda for at least seven years. Pushing away all of the melancholy thoughts, Link sat down on top of the pillar and began to play the ocarina. The melody had a hint of sadness in it, and as he played it Link wondered why he was suddenly so sensitive to such things.

Far from being merely a song, the notes of the melody that Link played carried far and wide throughout the land, inaudible to everything except those that were intended to hear it. Within a half hour Link's horse Epona, responding to the summons of her master, was standing at the base of the pillar. Link climbed halfway down the pillar, dropping the last few feet to the ground. Mounting his horse, Link set off towards the southern swamp.

As he followed the path from the field to the swamp, Link looked up to the sky. Sure enough, he spotted a bright red balloon floating above the trees, barely visible in the early morning sun. Reaching into one of his packs, Link pulled out his bow and an arrow. Although his archery wasn't always perfect when he had to hit fast moving targets, Link popped the stationary balloon with ease.

As he popped the balloon, the short man who had been hanging from it fell to the ground not far from Link. The man wore tight, bright green clothing, with the most ridiculous hat Link had ever seen.

"Mr. Fairy!" the man exclaimed. "Have you come to lead Tingle to the land of the fairies?"

"I'm in a bit of a hurry, Tingle," Link replied. Actually, Link had no hurry to get wherever he was going, but the eccentric Tingle could take forever to do the simplest things if he wasn't given a sense of urgency. "Do you have any maps that could tell me how to get out of Termina?"

"Out of Termina…" Tingle's voice faded away in mid-sentence. "Mr. Fairy, could it be that you are returning to the land of the fairies? Oh, Mr. Fairy, won't you take me with you?"

"I'm not a fairy," Link told him, "and I just want to get out of Termina. Do you know of a way or don't you?"

"I'm terribly sorry, Mr. Fairy," Tingle answered. "Maybe the witches that live in this swamp know. Tingle, tingle, kooloo-limpah!" With the conversation ended, Tingle inflated a new balloon and returned to the sky above the treetops. Link wondered if he should have ever put any hope in the eccentric mapmaker knowing anything useful. All he had done was reassert that Link needed to deal with the witches if he wanted to return home.

Link continued ahead to the Swamp Tourist Center. While he might have normally just swam to the witches shop, Link needed a boat so that he could bring Epona with. The man at the center, who was Tingle's father and much more sensible, was only happy to provide all the help Link needed. He also confirmed that if anybody knew a way out of Termina through the Swamp, it would be Kotake and Koume.

The man took Link and Epona in a boat as only as far as necessary so that they could reach the cottage where the witches lived. Leaving Epona outside, Link entered the building alone.


	4. Chapter 3: Through Fire and Ice

Chapter 3: Though Fire and Ice

The swamp cottage was very dimly lit, and the smell of potion ingredients filled the air. Kotake, a witch with a blue gem in her forehead, was behind the counter.

"Welcome, dearie," she said. "How may I help you today?"

"I'm looking for a way out of Termina," Link answered. "Do you know of one?" After he said this, Kotake began cackling in a way that made Link wonder if this visit was really worth it.

"I know of many ways," she replied, "Some of them even let you keep your soul while you go through."

"I would like to be left in one piece when this is finished," Link specified. "Do you know of any that lead to Hyrule?"

"Never heard of it," Kotake told him, "but the Swamp Path is reasonably safe"

"As long as you don't mind a bit of fire," a voice from behind added. Startled, Link spun around to find himself face to face with Kotake's sister, Koume. Unlike Kotake, Koume wore a red gem on her forehead.

"Don't go scaring the poor mortal, Koume," Kotake scolded. "The fire isn't quite nearly so terrifying as the ice. At any rate, we might as well get started." The two witches exited the building with Link and, after calling Epona, they set off into the Woods of Mystery. Although Link would have surely gotten lost if he had tried to navigate the woods on his own, Kotake and Koume followed some unseen path, never showing any signs of misdirection. After they had traveled for about an hour, Link began to wonder if the witches really knew what they were doing when they arrived at a dead end.

"Now what do we do?" Link asked, irritated.

"Poor little moral, thinking that we are lost," Koume remarked. "Watch closely, and you might learn something." With that comment, she pointed at the tangled mass of vines in front of them. A bright blast of flames nearly blinded Link, and he was forced to shield his eyes. When the light faded, a smoldering tunnel had been formed in the dense foliage. After following the tunnel for perhaps a half mile, they came to a cave. Inside, a narrow rock bridge spanned a river of lava.

"It's okay, girl," he reassured Epona, although he wondered if it wasn't really himself that he was trying to calm down. He got off of the horse's back and led her over the treacherous-looking bridge. The next cavern contained a majestic waterfall, but had no other discernable exits. Link wondered what they were going to do when Koume motioned for him to come behind the waterfall. Using her flames as a guide, Link and Epona walked up the winding tunnel to a ledge at the top of the waterfall. From there, Link saw that the river ran through a passageway big enough to fit though above the water. Farther upstream, light was shining through an opening in the tunnel wall. Wondering if the witches intended for him to walk across the top of the water, Link was caught by surprise when a blast of frigid air shot up the tunnel. The surface of the river had turned to ice, and Link had begun to walk upstream with Epona when he realized that neither Kotake nor Koume were anywhere to be found. Although their company made him nervous, he was more frightened by the possibility that the witches were nearby but hidden. Pushing his fears aside, Link and Epona went alone though the opening and into the light.


	5. Chapter 4: Grasses and Ledges

Chapter 4: Grasses and Ledges

The witches were nowhere to be found outside. Link hoped that that meant that they had simply left when the need for them was gone, but he still felt uneasy. His current surroundings were not helping the matter. He was on a ledge halfway up the side of a canyon. The canyon didn't go straight very far in either direction, but it was fairly deep. The constant sound of the wind blowing between jagged rock spikes above and below him on the canyon walls gave the impression that the noise was cause by the screaming of lost souls. Looking around, Link found a very narrow path that looked as if it went up towards the top of the canyon. Leading Epona, he slowly and carefully began his ascent.

After they had gone on for quite some time, they were still only about two thirds of the way up the side of the canyon from the bottom. It had been shortly after noon when Link had exited the waterfall cavern, but the sun was now setting in the western sky. Deciding that he should find shelter of set up camp, Link saw a suitable ledge not far ahead. The ledge had shelter not so much in the form of a cave as it was a rocky overhang. For the first time since he had entered the canyon, Link saw vegetation of sorts- a kind of brownish grass that Epona quickly got to work on. It didn't look very appetizing, but Link decided that it would be better if they saved the food he had for Epona in case it turned out to be hard to find another place like this one. Link ate a small portion of fish that he had brought with, as there was no game of any kind to be found. Despite the worries he had deep down about going to sleep in unfamiliar and uncivilized territory, Link had been up since very early in the morning and fell asleep readily.

The next morning Link and Epona continued their journey. The path they now traveled on was not nearly as steep as the one from the previous day, in fact it seemed to cover almost no vertical distance at all. It also wasn't getting them far from the cave they had come though, as the path had reversed direction shortly after leaving the site where Link and Epona had spent the night. Despite the apparent lack of progress, Link really had no other choice than to follow the only path they could find.

In the middle of the afternoon their work finally began to show results, in such an abrupt manner that Link decided to pull out his Lens of Truth to verify that what he was seeing was really there. The path they were following went straight for a while more, crossed over the canyon on a giant stone arch, and then continued around to a village in the cliff wall of the canyon! The village looked to be directly across from the cave Link had come from, but was higher up and placed so that the ledge the village sat on hid it from the view of anybody outside the cave. With a goal of sorts in sight, Link and Epona began to pick up the pace.

The terrain proved to be much harder than it had appeared from afar, so by nightfall Link and Epona had only reached the beginning of the rock arch. The path continued across on top of the arch, but Link also found a ledge underneath the arch that could serve as a shelter of sorts. There was none of the grass from the previous day in sight, so Link and Epona both ate from their brought food. More at ease than the previous day, Link once again drifted off to sleep.

Link awoke shortly after midnight and heard a sort of scuffling noise on the rocks. A dark shape darted under the rock ledge, and Link reached for his sword.


	6. Chapter 5: Canyon of the Lost Warriors

Chapter 5: Canyon of the Lost Warriors

The dark shape that had darted into Link's temporary encampment froze. Link grabbed his sword and prepared to draw it when the shape began moving again. As Link was about to draw his sword, the shadow darted behind Link and clamped a hand over his mouth. The other hand produced a dagger and set the edge of it against Link's throat.

"Alright, now listen carefully," the shadow said quietly but firmly. The voice and the shadow's size suggested that it was a young boy, probably one not much older than Link. "There are two ways we can do this. The first is that you stay nice and quiet until I say it's okay. You'll get to stay in one piece and I'll decide what to do with you later. If either you or your horse there makes any noises or sudden movements, I'll use the second option and kill you both. Got it?" Link nodded to show he understood. Epona, who was clearly alarmed by the knife at her masters throat also seemed to show an uncanny understanding of the situation, and likewise stayed perfectly still. They stayed silent for well over an hour, when the dark shape spoke again.

"Alright, it seems to be all clear," the shadow told him. The hand was removed from Link's mouth and the blade from his throat, although the shape still held it in its hand. "Now who are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Link. I was only traveling through here, and was hoping to stay at that village ahead."

"Fairly odd for a traveler such as yourself to be carrying such fine weaponry," the shape observed. "Are you sure you aren't a warrior of some kind?"

"I never claimed not to be, as I am a warrior of sorts," Link responded. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I don't know what you've heard about this canyon, but it probably isn't true," the shape warned him, "You might as well turn back now."

"I don't want to turn back now," Link snapped. "I'm trying to return home, and it just happens that the route I ended up on passes through this canyon. I was already going out of this canyon when you came in here and put a knife to my throat!"

"I'm really sorry about that," the shape apologized. "You see, there are certain…" his voice trailed off for a second. "…monsters, I guess, that live in this canyon. They grow stronger by killing adventurers who are foolish enough to believe that they are the 'mightiest warrior on earth' and I didn't want you to draw their attention. I was really just acting out of your own best interests."

"How is killing me in my own best interest?"

"You would have ended up dead anyway, and this way the villagers wouldn't have ended up with the monsters getting stronger," the shape explained. "We should probably spend the rest of the night here, then we can set out tomorrow for the village. They will treat you well as long as you plan on leaving the canyon."

"Would you mind telling me what this place is, first?" Link asked.

"Of course," the shape said, "This canyon right is the Canyon of the Lost Warriors, the graveyard of bold acventurers"


	7. Chapter 6: The Mysterious Warrior

Chapter 6: The Mysterious Warrior

Link woke up the next morning with the strange events of the previous night running though his head. He wasn't even sure that any of it had actually happened, a suspicion that was reinforced by the fact that there was no trace of the dark figure from the strange incident. He decided that it must not have actually happened and began to set out for the village. He and Epona had started to cross the rock bridge when a voice called out from behind them.

"Where do you think you're going?" it inquired. Link turned around to face the person he had met the previous night. His guess from before had been close, as the mysterious figure looked to be a boy no older than thirteen. The boy's garments were very familiar to link, as he was wearing light leather armor with bandages wrapped around his ankles, forearms, and head. Over the armor he wore a grey tunic with a high collar that covered his lower face. The armor was unadorned, but the tunic had the emblem of an eye shedding a single tear.

"Zelda?" Link wondered aloud in surprise.

"Zelda? Who the hell is 'Zelda?'" the boy responded with a trace of indignity. "My name is Kitsu. I'm a _boy_."

"Sorry, you just reminded me of somebody I haven't seen in a long time," Link apologized. "I didn't mean to offend you, Kitsu"

"I must admit, I'm still quite a bit offended, but I'm starting to think that you do this to everybody." Kitsu stated. "Does this 'Zelda' person know that you can't tell the difference between her and a boy?"

"It's a long story," Link explained. "I'm very sorry."

"So you said already," Kitsu replied emotionlessly. He looked up at the sun, which had already risen well above the horizon. "As much as I enjoy standing around and having complete strangers tell me that I look like a girl, we should probably get going. It's about a half day's walk from here to the village, and we wouldn't want them to miss out on the opportunity for you to insult them too." Without saying another word, he turned and began to walk away briskly. Realizing that the villagers might not trust him if he didn't arrive with Kitsu, Link followed along closely.

They remained silent for most of the journey. Kitsu, possibly still offended by Link's earlier mistake, showed no desire to talk to Link. Link tried several times to start a conversation, but was met each time by either short, simple answers or, more frequently, complete silence. While he would have liked to know more about the mysterious youth, Link realized that his chances of finding anything out at this point were slim to none. Around noon, the boy began to give Link commands about what to do when they approached the village.

"When we get near the village, stay where I tell you," Link was told. "You'll have to stand out of arrow range of the village, but stay out in the open where they will be able to see you. I'll gather the town elders and request that they allow you to enter the village. Once you do, you'll still be watched carefully until we are sure you can be trusted." Without another word Kitsu turned around and began to resume the journey to the village. As promised, Link stayed in the spot indicated to him when they arrived, and as the sun was setting Kitsu returned with the decision of the elders.

"Welcome to Duun Sedoro," Kitsu said emotionlessly. "The last remaining stronghold held by the Guardians of Kiasha."


	8. Chapter 7: The Guardians of Kiasha

Chapter 7: The Guardians of Kiasha

Everything in Duun Sedoro was covered with a thick layer of sand. The streets were almost deserted, with the few people who were visible hanging back in doorways and alleys. From the way they stared at him when they thought that he wasn't paying attention, Link gathered that outsiders were not welcome.

The village itself was not very large. The town hall was built up against the cliff above the town. A single road ran directly between the town hall and the edge of the cliff below the village. Other than that main street, there was only one crossroad. A wooden wall surrounded the entire village. The building to which Kitsu was leading Link was the town hall, easily noticed as it was topped by a tower with a large bell, presumably to warn the villagers to take shelter.

As they turned from the cross street to the main one, Link immediately noticed a change. There were no more of the fearful villagers who had been on the previous street. Instead, Link and Kitsu were met by a dozen men armed with rusted swords and shields.

"You will accompany us alone from this point. Leave any weapons or armor you may carry outside of the building," their captain ordered.

"Hey! Buddy," Kitsu interrupted, "I'm escorting this guy in." The soldier turned to face the boy with contempt in his eyes.

"You have already conducted a serious breach in protocol by bringing this outsider, _child_," he told the young warrior. "Your punishment will be determined by the elders' opinion of this intruder." Two of the soldiers came forward and pushed Kitsu into the ground. Without giving Link a chance to say anything, they grabbed him by the arms and pulled him forward. At the town center they took away his sword, shield, and the pack full of equipment that he had carried with him into the village. Link was glad that he had left most of his equipment with Epona outside the walls. Link was shoved to the floor in front of a group of four old men and an old woman, and the soldiers left, leaving him alone with the elders. The man in the center, who appeared to be the chief elder, sat on a raised platform about a foot off the floor; the others sat two to each side of him on the floor.

"Foreigner, tell us your purpose in coming to this canyon," the man to the at the chief's right demanded. Of the five elders, he appeared to be the youngest, being around fifty years of age. On his arm he wore a rusted steel band with a sword and shield on it, indicating that he was most likely the elder in charge of the village's defense.

"Link," he mumbled.

"Excuse me, could you be a bit clearer?" the woman asked. Neither she nor the two men who sat in the outside positions had anything that signified what their exact position might be, but the fact that she sat next to the chief indicated that she was an important voice on the council.

"My name is Link," he said, louder and more clearly. "I am not an intruder here, I was given an invitation."

"The invitation was only to allow you to approach the village," the old man to Link's far left announced. "No instructions were at any point given to allow you within our walls."

"And certainly not while bearing weapons!" the guard commander interjected.

"Indeed, a punishment will have to be arranged for the youth, Kitsu," the woman said to herself.

"Elder Thoreau, you have yet to voice an opinion," the chief remarked to the far-left man who had remained silent the whole time. "Tell us, what is your position as Elder of the West Town?"

"I do not see evidence indicating that neither this lad nor Kitsu has done anything wrong," Thoreau stated. "Certainly this child presents no threat to the safety of our village."

"It is a major risk!" the commander bellowed. "Should this boy fall into the hands of the exiled ones, we would become overpowered. There is no excuse for him to be in this canyon."

"Precisely the issue at hand, Katan" Thoreau replied. "You want this bow out of the canyon, but he was found coming _out_, meaning that unless he somehow snuck past your men on the way in—"

"Not a chance," the commander, Katan, interrupted.

"Then you agree that he must have entered the canyon some other way," the elder responded. He turned and spoke directly to Link. "Your name is Link, correct?" Link nodded. "Tell us, how did you come to be in this canyon?"

"I was trying to find a way back to my home," Link replied truthfully. "I was traveling through a cave, and it ended up leading me here."

"A cave, you say?" the far-left elder inquired. "We have never heard of any caves opening into the canyon. Are you sure that what you tell is the truth, boy?"

"Just because we have not heard of it does not mean that it is not there, Taketsu, "the chief reminded him. As I recall, we have never sent any people into the canyon to tell us what truly lies within."

"Don't tell me that you believe this foreigner, Elder!" Katan yelled in outrage.

"I have not made a decision either way," the chief assured him. By now Link had a good idea of where each of the elders stood. His only real ally was the west-elder, Thoreau. Katan would most likely be his greatest enemy, and Taketsu and the woman would most likely back him up. The Chief looked like he would not decide against a majority decision, so Link had to find a way to tie the vote. Taking a gamble, he spoke directly to the elders. Asking questions of them might not be the best of ideas and would probably harm their opinion of him, but if he were going to do anything to help himself, he needed to know exactly what he had done wrong

"What makes the valley so dangerous, anyway?" he asked. His assumption was right; the question seemed only to aggravate the situation. After giving him a dirty look, Katan began to respond.

"The Canyon of the Lost Warriors is home to a tribe of monstrous beings who grow stronger by taking the souls of anybody they find," he explained. "This village was built to prevent passage in or out of the canyon."

"Why doesn't somebody just kill these monsters?" Link inquired. Depending on the strength of the monsters, Link might be able to accomplish what the poorly equipped villagers had been too frightened to attempt.

"Being a child, do not presume that you know all that is going on here," the woman said with a hint of irritation in her voice. "These beings possess strength greater than that of the best fighter, and they are at least equal to us in number. Defeating them is simply out of the question."

"Why not just leave then?" Link asked. "If living here is dangerous, why don't you just have the entire village move away?"

"Again, you presume that that is the only matter at hand," Katan scolded. "This village is the only thing standing between those monsters and the kingdom of Kiasha. There were at one time more villages around here, but they were full of cowards and ran away, or full of weaklings and were defeated. Only we remain today, and we are the only thing that is keeping those creatures away from the rest of the world."

"Katan, Naomi, that is quite enough," the chief elder remarked quietly. "This young man should not be expected to know the answers to these questions; otherwise he would not ask them. The time has come for you to announce what your verdict is. Taketsu, what is your decision?" Link began to worry as he realized that he had not gotten around to making a defense for himself.

"I, Taketsu, the elder of East Duun Sedoro, have come to the conclusion that this youth, unintentional though it may be, is guilty of violating the law of this village. As he could not be expected to know our laws when he came here, I recommend that he be imprisoned and caused to do labor for the sake of this village."

"I, Thoreau, the elder of West Duun Sedoro, have come to the conclusion that this youth has not violated any of the laws of this village through his actions. I recommend that he be allowed to continue on his journey, provided that it should not lead him back into the canyon."

"I, Katan, the elder in charge of military matters, have come to the conclusion that this youth is in violation of the laws of this village. I recommend indefinite imprisonment and labor."

"I, Naomi, the elder in charge of domestic matters, have come to the conclusion that this youth is innocent of any crime," Link stared at the woman, having expected for her to be one of his opponents based on the way she had acted towards him. As he was trying to figure it out, she continued. "However, I would like to point out that the youth Kitsu has violated our laws in extending an invitation to a foreigner without the authority to do so." With Naomi's decision, it looked as though the elder would have to show his hand. Before he revealed the final outcome, the soldiers were brought back into the room.

"I, Farric, Chief elder of Duun Sedoro, declare that this council has not been able to reach a conclusion," he said. "Under the laws that were set down by the founders of this village, the accused has a right to trial by combat against an opponent agreed upon by this council. Is this found acceptable by the members of this council?" All of the elders nodded in approval, but Link noticed as he was led away by the soldiers that Katan and Thoreau seemed particularly pleased with the outcome.


	9. Chapter 8: The Swordmaster of Dun Sedoro

Chapter 8: The Swordmaster of Duun Sedoro

Things moved quickly the morning after the announcement. The soldiers led Link away, not dragging him as they had the first time, but this time merely having him walk behind them. It seemed as though getting even a tied vote on the council of elders was rare enough that it earned him respect in the eyes of the villagers. Link was handed a sword and shield that he recognized as his own.

Link was still trying to make sense of the whole situation. He had waited for Kitsu to get approval from the village for him to enter it, but it appeared that the elders had not been aware of Link until he had been dragged before them. The elder who he thought was against him had voted for him, but his biggest supporter had looked glad when the trial by combat hat been announced. Link himself was not worried, as he was an excellent swordsman, but Thoreau would have had no way of knowing that. To the elders, Link should have appeared to be nothing more than a ten-year old boy.

As it was nearly dark, the duel was set to take place at noon the following day. Link was given a room on the second floor of the town center. It was bare except for a bed and a table with an oil lamp on it, but Link wasn't concerned about the furnishings of his temporary living arrangements. He placed his sword and shield on the table, and when he turned around Kitsu was crouched in the window frame.

"How are you doing?" the other asked. Kitsu was still dressed as he had been when Link first met him, with his face concealed. Link wondered what reason the mysterious youth had for covering his face, but there were more important things that Link needed to know at the time.

"I've been in worse condition," he replied carefully. Since the meeting with the elders, Link could no longer be sure that he could trust the boy. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking up on how you're doing," Kitsu answered. "You don't seem to be too worried about tomorrow."

"I have yet to meet my match in a swordfight," Link said confidently. "I can take whatever they throw at me."

"I hope you have as much skill as you claim, because you're going to need all of it," the warrior warned Link. "The elders will find the strongest fighter in the village, and they'll make some kind of deal with them so that they have motivation. Whoever gets picked will be hard to beat."

"I'll manage," Link said. "What's your real reason for coming here? You don't seem like the kind of guy who would just stop in to make sure I'm not nervous. What part do you play in this?" Kitsu remained stubbornly silent. "I know you weren't talking to the elders earlier, who did you really contact?"

"I'm really sorry about all of this," he said at last. "I promise that I'll explain all of this after you win the duel tomorrow." He turned to go, but Link stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Let go of me!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry," Link apologized. He let go of Kitsu's arm. "Can you do me a favor? My horse is still outside the village. Can you—"

"Already taken care of," Kitsu interrupted. "Your horse is being taken care of by some friends of mine in the village." Without giving Link a chance to thank him, Kitsu was gone.

An hour before noon on the next day, soldiers came to Link's room to escort him to the site where the duel would be held. After buckling his shield on his right arm and his scabbard over his left shoulder, Link was led to the center of the town. The soldiers left him there while they went away somewhere, presumably to retrieve Link's opponent. Shocked by the fact that they had left him alone, Link looked around and saw that soldiers with prepared bows stood on the rooftops, watching his every move. As he scanned the tops of the buildings, he counted at least a dozen. Turning around, he saw the soldiers return with a man who looked to be no older than twenty or so years. The man held a long sword in his right hand, with additional, shorter blades sheathed on his back. His black hair, which was quite long for a man's, was tied at the back of his neck, from where it hung freely until it ended halfway down to his waist. He stopped in the middle of the square formed by the intersection of the cross and main streets. The soldiers who had accompanied him came forward and brought Link into the center also.

While this had been going on, a crowd had gathered in the streets. They stood slightly back from the arena, which consisted of a circle marked out by posts that had been placed by the soldiers. Out in the crowd, Link thought he saw Kitsu, but he couldn't be sure. In the center of the road that went to the village hall were the five elders. Farric, the chief elder, came forward as the crowd became silent.

"Foreigner Link, you are here because you have been accused of trespassing into the cursed grounds, and are facing imprisonment should you be found guilty," he announced in a surprisingly loud voice that sounded quite unlike the one with which he had spoken in the council chamber. "Should you defeat Ritsuki in fair combat by being the first to draw the other's blood, the charges will be dropped and you will be free to go, provided that your path does not take you back into the valley."

"Once the combatants have taken their positions on the opposite sides of the arena, the battle will commence," Katan declared. Link was led to the eastern end of the arena, where he drew his sword. Across the clearing, he saw Ritsuki at the other side. "Begin!"

Ritsuki wasted no time in launching an offensive. Because of his longer legs, Ritsuki was able to cross the arena in a very short time. Almost caught off guard, Link hastily raised his shield to block the attack. The fight had begun.

To the assembled villagers, it must have seemed from the beginning that Link would lose right off the bat. Ritsuki was taller, stronger, and probably had a reputation as a skilled swordsman within the village. On the other hand, Link's only apparent advantage was that he was more agile and carried a shield. In the first few minutes of the fight, Ritsuki used every opportunity he could find to strike at Link, never directly but always in an attempt to find a weakness in his opponent's fighting style. With each of these attacks, Link stopped it in whatever manner was most convenient, whether it was by blocking it on his shield or by dodging the strike entirely.

For the first few minutes, Link made very few attacks of his own. Occasionally, when Ritsuki began to launch more attacks than Link thought he could handle, he would attempt a strike or two just to make his opponent back off slightly. Link took advantage of this time to make his own analysis of Ritsuki's form. When the time was appropriate, Link struck.

The opportunity came after Ritsuki had launched a particularly nasty flurry of attack. Perhaps frustrated by failing to find an opening to finish Link off, Ritsuki brought his sword over his head and slashed down at Link with all of his might. Link sidestepped to the left and thrust his sword at the warrior's side.

The events that directly followed Link's attack were obscured by a great cloud of dust that had risen when Ritsuki's heavy sword had slammed into the ground. When the cloud cleared, Link and Ritsuki were standing about twenty feet apart, both breathing heavily. Ritsuki's original sword was still stuck in the ground from where he had last struck; the villager now held in his hands a pair of slim swords, each about two feet long and made of what appeared to be silver. Link's gilded sword and mirrored shield were both covered in dust, as were the tunics of both combatants. Although there was a cut in Ritsuki's clothing on his right side where Link had struck, the skin below was unbroken. Ritsuki, realizing that he had left himself open to attack, had used his left hand to draw one of his spare blades; he then used that blade to deflect Link's thrust just enough that it would pass by him. His main sword appeared to be stuck into the ground, and in is hurry to retreat out of the vision-obscuring dust he had simply left it behind.

Within seconds, the two had recovered and were rushing back at each other. Neither of them hesitated for a moment as blow after blow was struck. As the combat became fiercer than any he had ever experienced before, Link leapt back to give himself time to recover. Caught off guard for only a second, Ritsuki ran at Link in an all-out charge. The clang of steel echoed throughout the arena as the village's champion slid to a stop several feet past Link. With an equally loud crack, Link's shield cracked in two and fell to the ground, where it slowly became covered in the steady drip of blood coming off of Link's sword.


	10. Chapter 9: In Search of a Savior

Chapter 9: In Search of a Savior

The morning after the duel was when Link realized how much he desperately needed a break. While Ritsuki would have been an easy fight for him if they had been fighting on Link's terms, the fight had added stress to Link's body, which had still been recovering from when he had defeated Majora. To put it simply, he ached. Link decided that, although he by no means wanted to fall out of practice, he would see if he could work around the village for a while in exchange for being given a place to stay. Since he had won the fight against Ritsuki, the elders had offered to let him stay in his room at the town hall again, at least for that night.

Despite the condition of his body, Link still rose early in the morning and went to find a place where he could practice his swordsmanship in solitude. He found such a place behind the town hall itself, where the cliff came to meet the wall of the building, so that the place was spacious enough to practice with his sword in while still being out of the way. Even so, after about half an hour of practicing, Link noticed that he was being watched from the rooftop. As he halted his practice to take a better look, his silent observer jumped down from the roof, landing on his feet almost silently in the dirt next to Link.

"You did quite well yesterday," the watcher remarked. Although it was still morning and the sun had yet to light the alcove where Link practiced, he was fairly sure that the young man who had just spoken was Kitsu.

"I believe you said you had an explanation for me," Link told him. Normally he would have brought it up more politely, but the sore condition his body was in, coupled with the fact that Kitsu had apparently been manipulating Link, made him noticeably more irritable than usual. "I'm still waiting to hear it."

"As promised, I'll explain everything to you," Kitsu replied agreeably, taking no notice of Link's sudden rudeness. "Come riding with me." Recognizing that Kitsu was reluctant to confess what he'd been up to while he was still within the village walls, Link followed him. At the east gate, they stopped in a stable to get Epona and Kitsu's horse, a blood bay mare that Kitsu had named Macha. They rode away from the village, with Link following because he had entered the village on the west end. This side of the village was much more hospitable than the other side, with occasional clumps of the brown-colored grass that Link and Epona had found on the other side of the gorge.

"Are we being followed?" Kitsu called back to Link once they had ridden for about a mile. Link turned around in his saddle to check the area behind them.

"No, we're safe," he responded.

"Good," Kitsu said as he reigned in his horse. "Basically, this canyon is inhabited by monsters that feast on the souls of anybody who enters their territory. The farther they go from their camp, which is somewhere in this canyon, the weaker they get. Out here at the village, we have the strength and numbers to repel them, although they kill one or two villagers before retreating. If we move in closer, they are stronger and easily defeat us, but we can't move the village farther away because they would be able to sneak past us. Once they get past the village, they would roam the countryside until they found some travelers they could kill to revitalize themselves. Do you understand all of this?"

"I do," Link replied, "but I still can't see what that has to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you," Kitsu told him. "There is a faction among the villagers that believes we should be trying to defeat these monsters. Everybody knows that we aren't strong enough right now, so they are just waiting for somebody who will be their savior and help them to protect their village."

"And they think that I'm this savior of theirs?"

"Hey, you beat the best fighter in the village," Kitsu said. "Well, one of the best. At any rate, certain elders are sympathetic to our plan. Whenever they get the chance, they organize a trial by combat for whoever they find. You are the first one who managed to win the duel."

"Is that why Ritsuki tried so hard to beat me? He doesn't want to try defeating the monsters?"

"Actually, it's pretty ironic," Kitsu responded. "Ritsuki is one of the biggest supporters of going into the canyon and wiping out the monsters. The elders told him that they will put some of the things he suggested into consideration if he won the duel. That's how secret this arrangement is. Only the elders who are in favor of it and the people who they negotiated with know about the true purpose behind the duels. Today, tomorrow, maybe even a few weeks from now, the supporters will start clamoring for you to lead an expedition to wipe out the beasts in the canyon. After seeing how strong you were, some people who weren't really decided will switch to being in favor of the whole idea. The elders who we negotiated with won't make any resistance, and the remaining few will have to give in to public pressure."

"So what do I have to do?" Link asked.

"For right now, nothing," Kitsu instructed. "I can give you a place to stay until things start to get moving, but until then you just need to make sure that you are prepared."

"What kind of monsters are these, anyway?"

"The worst kind possible," Kitsu told him gravely. "The monsters that live in that valley are human monsters."


	11. Chapter 10: Pillar of Heroes

Chapter 10: Pillar of Heroes

Link went through the rest of the day pondering the things that Kitsu had said to him earlier. After Kitsu's revelation, the two boys had ridden back to the village in silence. Link was too busy considering everything he had just been told, and Kitsu, who seemed to be even more quiet than usual, decided that Link needed to be left alone. The young warrior had vanished immediately after stabling Macha, leaving Link alone again. To pass the time, Link resumed his sword practice in the secluded corner behind the town hall. Although his mind was usually clear while he practiced with his sword, but now it was riddled with confusion. Never before had he been so troubled over an issue that should have been simple on the surface.

Around nightfall, Link noticed that he once again had an audience while he practiced. He hadn't noticed when Ritsuki had first arrived, but the young man merely stood against the corner of the building with his arms folded, watching intently. Still thinking about the issues he was dealing with, Link ignored the warrior and continued his practice until the sun had set completely.

When it became to dark to see, Link finished his practice, retrieving his scabbard from the ground near the building before sheathing his sword in it and buckling it over his shoulder. He began to walk back towards the front of the building when Ritsuki finally spoke.

"You seem very good at this," he remarked. Link paused only for a second while he responded.

"Thanks."

"Will you go walking with me? I have something I'd like to show you." Link turned around to look at the young soldier while he considered it.

"Okay," he replied at last. The two of them walked down the main street of the village until they reached the north gate. A pair of soldiers stood on either side of the heavy wooden door, and as Link and Ritsuki approached one of them stepped out to stop them from leaving.

"It's okay, Natsiku," Ritsuki told the guard. "It's me."

"Oh, there you are, Ritsuki," the guard said, surprised. "You're fairly late tonight." The guard indicated towards Link. "What about him?"

"I'll keep an eye on him," Ritsuki reassured. The guard stepped back, and they passed through.

"Where are we going?" Link asked his guide.

"Don't worry, it's just ahead," Ritsuki said as he pointed towards a large pillar, barely visible in the dim torchlight coming from the village wall. As they approached, Link saw that it was not a stone column as he would have expected out in a canyon, but that it was instead a carefully carved obelisk.

"What is this?" he asked. Ritsuki didn't seem to hear him at first and just kept gazing up at the obelisk. Just as Link was about to ask again, he answered the question.

"This is a monument dedicated to the people who have died because of the monsters in this valley," he explained, not taking his eyes off of the stone for even a second. "You can't see it in the darkness, but the stone is engraved with the names of the people who have been killed by them. The elders refer to them as 'Heroes of the Village.'" Finally taking his eyes away from the obelisk, he glanced at Link before shifting his gaze back to the names that Link couldn't read. "The names of my parents are on this stone."

"Is that why you want to get rid of the people living in that valley down there?" Link asked. "You want revenge?"

For the longest time Ritsuki remained silent, staring at a single spot on the column. Too afraid to ask the question again, Link stood in silence with him. After several minutes, Ritsuki gave an answer.

"The elders call the people whose names are on this stone the Heroes of the Village," he repeated, "but I see them for what they really are. These deaths accomplished nothing, and they belong under the heading of 'Victims.' I want it to be that nobody else's name will ever have to be added to this list." He turned and began to walk back towards the glowing torches that bracketed the gate into the village. "One last thing," he said as he turned to go. "Don't get too caught up in the fact that those who live down in that canyon were once human. Sometimes people do things that make them no better than monsters." Without another word he vanished into the darkness, leaving Link alone.


	12. Chapter 11: Reluctant Farewells

Chapter 11: Reluctant Farewells

Link awoke the next morning beneath an unfamiliar ceiling. This was nothing new to him, as he rarely slept in the same place for long while he was traveling. What was new to him was that he had no idea where he was, or how he had gotten there. He remembered talking to Ritsuki the night before out by the monument, that much he was certain of. He did not remember returning, so he guessed that he had fallen asleep, after which somebody had found him and brought him into the village. He had a few vague ideas of who that might have been, but none of them stood out above the rest.

At any rate, Link decided that there was no point in just staying around when he had things to do. His body was still slightly sore from fighting, but it was minor enough that Link could just ignore it and get moving. He got out of bed and looked around at the room he was in for a second. It was plain and undecorated, similar to the one he had stayed in at the village hall. For a second he thought that he might be in that room, but the room he was in currently was smaller and on the ground level. Pausing only to grab his sword from where it stood leaning in the corner of the room, Link opened the door and walked out into the room beyond. A young girl looked up from the basin where she was washing dishes.

"Good Morning!" she said cheerfully. She looked to be eleven or twelve years old, making her only slightly older than Link. Her hair was black and cut shoulder-length, and hung freely around her head. She pointed toward a pot sitting over a fire. "My brother is away right now, but there's some food left over in that pot over there." Link retrieved a bowl from the counter and lifted the lid off the pot. It contained a mixture of meat and eggs that looked rather unappetizing at first but was actually quite good. Link ate quietly while the girl finished her work. When he was finished, he got up to leave.

"Are you leaving already?" the girl asked. Link turned around to talk to her.

"There are things for me to take care of," he explained. "Maybe I'll come back sometime." He turned to leave again.

"Won't you at least tell me your name?" she called out as he reached the front door.

"It's Link," he replied, opening the door.

"That's a funny sounding name," she remarked. "My name's Karina. It was nice meeting you, Link."

"Likewise," he responded before leaving. It was not hard to get his bearings once he had left the house. The building was fairly close to the village's west gate, and Link was quickly on his way. Finding his way across town to the east gate, he located the stable where Kitsu had led him the day before. He entered it and made his way to the stall where Epona was.

"You're leaving us, aren't you?" Kitsu quietly accused him from behind. Link was taken by surprise, but had more or less expected that this conversation would be coming.

"Yes, I am," Link told the boy. "What difference does it make to you?"

"None, I guess. I thought when I first saw you that you would be the one who would free our village, but I saw ever since you learned that you would have to kill humans that you were uneasy with the whole concept. Tell me, have you ever seen anybody die before."

"Far too many," Link replied. "Even with me, you have very little hope of winning this battle."

"So you just want to pack up and leave?" Kitsu shouted. "You won't even stay until we have enough strength to pull it off?"

"Let him go, Kitsu," Ritsuki called down from the rafter where he had sat unnoticed until that point. "He's made his decision, and nothing you say will change his mind. You'll just hurt your voice if you keep shouting at him like that."

"Why?" Kitsu asked Link. "Why are you throwing our lives away like this?"

"Not too long ago, I made a promise to myself," Link told them. "I told myself that I would find a way to return home to Hyrule. It's the seventh morning since I made that promise, and I can't commit myself to a battle that I have no chance of winning. I'm sorry." After this last comment Kitsu was eerily silent and offered no more objections, so Link mounted Epona and rode out past the boy into the streets of the village. Wasting no time, Link headed straight through the west gate of the town, so fast that by the time the guards who were stationed at the entrance had just noticed he was leaving, he was already down the road, out of their reach for good.

He rode on for the better part of the day, putting as much distance as he could between himself and Duun Sedoro. For the most part he didn't stop, other than occasional short breaks so that Epona wouldn't get too tired. He continued going on like this for several hours, until familiar red horse dashed out into the road in front of him. Desperately he tried to go around, but the horse and its rider were to agile, and the path too narrow.

"Why are you doing this?" he yelled at Kitsu. "Nothing you say is going to change my mind."

"Fight me!" Kitsu insisted. "If you draw first blood, I'll leave you alone. If I make you bleed first, you have to take me with you wherever you go, and someday we'll come back to free this village."

"Fine!" Link called out as he got of Epona's back. Kitsu also jumped off of Macha's back, landing across the ledge from Link. As he drew his sword, he noticed that Kitsu was unarmed. There was no trace of the dagger that Kitsu had pulled on Link the night they first met, but Link realized that Kitsu would have had to leave immediately after Link had in order to catch him, and ha only been able to cut Link off because Kitsu, being used to the region, knew a second route that had brought him ahead of Link.

"Are you seriously going to try beating me like that?" Link taunted. "You need to draw blood to win." Kitsu did not respond, but fell back into a fighting stance.

Without warning, Kitsu suddenly sprang forward, moving faster than anything Link had ever seen before. As he neared Link's position, Kitsu began to strike. Not wanting to accidentally give the warrior a permanent injury, Link deflected the attack with the flat of his sword. He found himself caught off guard when the attack never connected. As he tried to figure out where his opponent had gone, Link was hit hard in the back and found himself falling to the ground. Not wanting to be caught off guard any more than he already had, Link quickly scrambled to his feet and located Kitsu.

Kitsu charged at Link a second time. This time Link went on the offensive, swinging his sword in a wide horizontal arc to counter Kitsu's constant leaping from side to side. As with the first time, he made sure that he was attacking with the flat side of his sword so that Kitsu would only be stunned and not seriously hurt. At the moment when Link thought Kitsu would be hit, the youth ducked down and slapped Link's blade aside. With his defenses down, Kitsu slammed into Link, who fell to the ground again. As he got up for a third try, Kitsu called out to him.

"I'll only give you one more chance!" he announced. "If you don't get it on this try, I'll end it on my terms."

Determined not to lose, Link all-out ran at his opponent. Grabbing his sword in both hands, he prepared for his last resort: the Kaiten Giri. Twirling in a circle, Link struck at anything he could reach with his sword. A cloud of dust rose from where his feet scuffled on the ground, obscuring his vision. As his spin slowed to a halt, Link saw a dim shape in the dust ahead of him. Again and again Link thrust his sword at the edges of the shadow before him, but each time it flickered to one side or the other and evaded the attack. Losing his patience, he brought his sword up in an overhand swing. As his blade began it's descent, Link began to feel resistance. Immediately his sword was torn from his grip and flung away, where Link dimly saw it embed in the rock floor of the ledge several feet away. When the dust from Link's spin attack cleared, Kitsu was nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly Link felt cold steel against his cheek. A trickle of blood ran down the edge of the blade, collecting at the tip in a small drop. The drop continued to get larger and larger, until finally it dropped from the tip of the blade, splattering on the dust-covered and sweat-soaked ground below.

"I win," Kitsu whispered in Link's ear. "Now tell me, why are you so anxious to abandon everybody?"


	13. Chapter 12: The Fate of a Hero

Chapter 12: The Fate of a Hero

Link stared into the fire as he waited for Kitsu to return. He thought about how he was going to explain what he had tried to do. His explanation would most likely be viewed by the other as a cowardly lie, something he told just to cover up something else. Even if the young warrior believed Link's story, he would probably never trust Link again. Wondering how he had ever gotten himself into such a mess, Link thought back to when he had lived in the Kokiri Forest. In those times, he had never had to worry about such important things as the fate of the world. Thinking fondly of his childhood friends, Link drifted off to sleep.

It was early morning when Link finally woke up. The fire had died out, with just a smoldering pile of embers remaining. If Kitsu had returned during the night, he had chosen not to bother Link, or it was entirely possible that Link's new traveling partner hadn't come back the previous night, as he was nowhere to be seen. Worried about what might have happened to him, Link got up and buckled on his sword. He started to search for his shield when he remembered that it had cracked in half. Armed only with his sword, Link set out to search for the other boy. He did not have to look very far.

Kitsu sat on the edge of the cliff, his legs dangling off the ledge. He did not turn around as Link approached, but when they were only a few feet from each other he spoke.

"You didn't have to be worried about me," he said. "After all, I'm the better fighter."

"You said that you wanted to know why I was running away," Link reminded him. "I've come to give you my explanation, if you would care to hear it."

"I'm not so sure that I want to hear it anymore," Kitsu muttered. Link was unsure whether the boy was talking to Link or just thinking to himself. Raising his voice to a normal level, Kitsu turned around to face Link. "Last night, while you were sleeping, I did some thinking of my own," he confided. "I asked myself why I really came after you. It made no sense, what I did. I think that I finally found the reason I did it." He turned back to gazing into the canyon. For the longest time he just stared at the void below his feet. Unsure of what to say, Link also remained silent. He put his sword down and sat down right next to Kitsu.

"After spending a lot of time thinking about it, I realized that I came here because I was also running away," Kitsu confessed. "Ever since I came to Duun Sedoro, I've been afraid that we would lose one day. When I saw you beat Ritsuki, I thought that we finally had a chance."

"Is that why you did everything you did back at the village?" Link asked. "You were afraid?"

"I had no right to manipulate you like that," Kitsu said, halfway between apologizing and confessing. "On the other hand, you owe Duun Sedoro nothing. You have every right to walk away and forget about us."

"I intend to do no such thing," Link announced. Kitsu turned to stare at him.

"You…"

"Eight days ago, I made a promise that I would find a way to return to my homeland," Link reminded the warrior. "If I walk away now, then I have no right to return." He drew his sword, pointing it down the length of the canyon towards the rising sun. "When I first took up this sword, I made a promise to someone that I would save my homeland. I now vow to you, that I will not rest until your village is free from the threat it faces. Even if it will cost me my life, I will accomplish this goal."

"You don't have to do this, Link," Kitsu protested. "You deserve to be free."

"I do have to do this," he corrected, "because the village deserves its freedom more than I do. They are the real heroes, who spend their entire lives to protect against this threat. I decided this when I was talking to Ritsuki, and I have no reason not to go on with it."

"If you had already decided to help us, then why did you leave the village?"

"The village is poorly equipped to deal with the people in the canyon. Since I can't get this done by myself, I'll need their help. If that happens, I need them to be properly prepared."

"Wouldn't it be easier if you had just told us what you were doing? Why did you try to keep it secret from us?" Kitsu asked.

"I didn't want to get everybody's hopes up," he said quietly. "If something were to happen to me before I returned, the village would be waiting for me. This way, nobody would care if I never came back."

"Absolute stupidity," Kitsu remarked. "How were you planning on finding your way without someone to guide you?"  
"Well…" The truth was that Link hadn't really thought about that. He had maps of Hyrule and Termina, but he had no idea of how this region of the world was laid out.

"How about this," he offered. "I'll guide you around the region until we can free the village. In return, you are going to take me with you when you finally do leave."

"What?" Link asked, surprised. "Didn't you want to free your home so you can live there safely?"

"Duun Sedoro isn't my home," the boy revealed. "It may be where I've lived for the past few years, but I'm actually of Hylian descent. I've always wanted to return to the land of my ancestors, and you are going to lead me there in exchange for my help." Thinking back, Link remembered that all of the villagers had rounded ears. Kitsu's ears were mostly covered by his hair, but where Link looked closely he could see that they were pointed. "Besides," Kitsu continued, more solemnly than before, "I'm not very well liked in the village. People rarely know whether I'm there or gone, and they don't care. The only reason I've even stuck around this long is because I owe a few people some favors, but those will be repaid once we're done. As soon as I can, I'm getting out of here and not looking back." Looking towards the risen sun, Kitsu stood up and walked back towards the horses. "We've wasted enough time as it is," he called back to Link. "It's at least a three day ride to the next village, and there's no guarantee that you're going to find exactly what you're looking for there."

Link stayed for a few more minutes, just gazing into the vast emptiness before he left. He might eventually return home, but Link new already that no matter where he went, his life would be given over to saving others. It was a fate that had been decided for him only a few months earlier, when he had first taken up the Kokiri Sword to rid his home of a curse. Link knew that by that first act of heroism, he had lost any chance at ever returning to his normal life. These thoughts remained in his mind as he and his guide began the long trek out of the canyon and into the world beyond.


	14. Chapter 13: Vast Land of Kiasha

Chapter 13: Vast Land of Kiasha

By nightfall of the same day they had started traveling together, the two boys had managed to exit from the canyon. After traveling through a narrow crevasse in the side of the canyon wall, Link found himself looking at the widest expanse of grassland he had ever seen. Even Hyrule field, which was so large that it would take you an entire day and night to cross it if you didn't stop, was dwarfed in comparison to the fields of Kiasha. Now Link was truly glad that Kitsu was guiding him, because without the mysterious young man to show him the way he would have been completely lost. Since the sun was already setting when they reached the eastern end of the canyon, the two set up camp just outside the tunnel.

After their conversation in the morning, Kitsu had returned to his usual silent self for the remainder of the day. On rare occasions he would break the silence, usually just to make sure Link and Epona were still okay and didn't need to rest before going on. Link, who was very used to traveling by now, rarely needed to stop by sometimes feigned being more tired than he really was because that would mean Kitsu and Macha would have to stop also. While Link admired the other's ability to travel almost an entire day without stopping, he frequently thought that Kitsu was pushing himself much too hard in order to avoid disappointing others.

At Kitsu's suggestion, they took turns keeping watch during the night. Link was unfamiliar with the area and didn't want to be caught off guard, so he agreed. It was more of a safeguard than anything else, since Kitsu claimed that he had crossed the field many times alone without any misfortune, but the youth also admitted that strange things occurring in the wildernesses of Kiasha were not unheard of, and grudgingly confided in Link that he also felt much safer with somebody standing watch. The night passed without mishap, with Link taking the first and third shifts and Kitsu taking the second. When Link pointed out that there was no reason they couldn't just make two shifts, the other countered by stating that two shifts would make each individual shift too long for the watch to stay awake, while four shifts would make the sleep each one of them received less restful. When Link asked why he had to be the one to do two shifts, Kitsu pointed out that Link could rest while riding, something that Kitsu couldn't do since he was leading the way. Kitsu eventually won both arguments, leaving Link to stand guard.

The next morning they began the journey across the field. Link quickly got lost as the rocky spires of the canyon faded out of sight behind them, and Kitsu admitted that even he didn't have any exact idea of where they were, but reassured Link that as long as they headed in an eastward direction they would run into a river that they could follow south to the next village. He had a similar method for returning to the canyon, although it took an extra day due to the fact that it involved following the river north until they reached the ridge in the north, which they could then follow back to the crevasse. Kitsu's method turned out to be sound, as they reached the river several hours after noon on the first day. They continued south until sunset, when they set up camp again. They used some fishing gear Kitsu had brought along to catch something for them to eat, then just sat for a while looking out at the great sea of grass beyond the river from the top of a bluff. As the sun slowly set, Kitsu began to appear to be increasingly nervous. When the sun was only a sliver above the horizon, Kitsu finally worked up the courage to talk about what had been bothering him.

"Link," he said as they sat in silence, "Why did you hold back when you were fighting me?" Link looked up from the river to meet Kitsu's gaze in the dim light of the setting sun.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Back at the village, when you fought against Ritsuki, I was watching you closely. You were just about perfect. I saw it again when you were practicing alone. Whenever you had a blade in your hand, I could see how skilled and practiced you were." He glanced down at the river, watching the current for a moment before continuing. "But two days ago, when you accepted my challenge, it was different. You never fought with all of your strength, and you never came at me if there was a chance that you could have accidentally hurt me."

"What are you talking about?" Link inquired. "You beat me easily in that fight. I don't see how going after you with the edge of my blade would have changed anything."

Kitsu fell silent, staring out at the emerging stars. "I gave that fight everything I had and more," he confessed after what seemed like an eternity. "It took every trick I've ever learned to keep myself from losing, and I know deep inside myself that if you hadn't held yourself back, I would have certainly lost."

"Didn't you get what you wanted, though?" Link wondered. "You ended up coming with me anyway, so does it matter how that fight turned out?"

"It does matter!" Kitsu shouted. "It matters because I want to know what you saw in me that made you think that I was weaker than you." This time it was Links turn to look away into the river.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "It just seemed like something within me was telling me that it would be wrong to put you at any risk of being hurt. I'm sorry if I offended you somehow."

"It's not that, it's…" Kitsu's voice trailed off as he looked into the waters below. For some amount of time, possibly as small as a couple of minutes or as long as several hours, neither of them said anything. In the sky above, the stars appeared one by one, sparkling like fireflies on a summer night.

"Hey, Link?" Kitsu said, breaking the seeming eternity of silence.

"Yeah?"

"When we first met, on that morning, you mistook me for some girl you knew back in Hyrule. Am I really that effeminate-looking?"

"No, it's just…" Link searched for the right words to explain with. "She sometimes would disguise herself as a boy, and your armor strangely resembles her disguise."

"What was she like?" Kitsu asked. "Was she your girlfriend?"

"What? No, it was just…" Link sighed as he organized his thoughts. "She's the princess of Hyrule, and I'm just, well, nobody really. We met because circumstances forced us to work together, but she's probably already forgotten about me— or she will by the time I find my way back." Remembering something else, he continued, "Besides, I already have a fiancé, sort of."

"I see," Kitsu remarked. "Did your parents arrange a marriage for you?"

"No, it was another thing where circumstances took control of things. I suppose you could say that _she_ arranged it, since I needed something from her, and my mind was too preoccupied to make sure I knew what all of the things she was talking about meant. She's a princess too, so it's likely that she'll have to arrange something else when I don't show up for a while."

"So you don't really have anybody waiting for you at home?"

"Well, there's one girl I grew up with who was always really nice to me, but we'll never be anything more than friends. It's better that way anyway, because I wasn't very popular with the other kids I grew up knowing when I left my home." He flopped back so that his head was resting in the grass behind him. "Maybe it might be a good thing that I won't be able to return home fore a while, after all. Things were a bit chaotic before I left, and a few years without me around might do them all a bit of good. What about you?"

"What about me?" Kitsu replied, surprised.

"Well, have you ever had anybody special?"

"Not really," the boy answered. "For the most part I never stayed in one place long enough to make friends, except for Duun Sedoro. Even there, I'm away most of the time or just off by myself, so nobody in the village really knows much about me. It's easier for me to move around if I don't have emotional attachments to people or places."

"I think it would be really lonely, living like that?"

"Isn't it lonelier the other way?" Kitsu wondered. "I've lived my entire life without friends, and it makes it easier for me. You're much the same way."

"Me?"

"Well, you're not going on and on right now about how much you miss your home right now, so I'm guessing that you were a bit of a loner or outcast growing up. Other than that one girl, people tended to ignore you, and after a few years you decided that you didn't need them, either. As for your home, I would guess that it wasn't so much a home as it was a place for you to live, and it could have been anywhere in the world as long as it served as a roof over your head. Now tell me, how much of that was I right on?"

"Just about all of it," Link said, amazed by the degree of accuracy with which the usually silent boy had depicted Link's life before he had begun his travels.

"See? Right now, you're able to worry about helping a village you hadn't even heard of a week ago because you don't have anything to tie you down anywhere," Kitsu explained. "Likewise, you can give this task everything you've got because there are few people who would miss you as a person when you finally meet your match."

For another period of time that seemed like an eternity, the two lay back on the grass, watching the stars in endless solitude. As the moon roses higher in the night sky, Link noticed that Kitsu had fallen asleep. As he carried the warrior back to the encampment, Link wondered what kind of life the boy had lived up until now, and realized that he really knew nothing about his guide.


	15. Chapter 14: Land of Many Heroes

Chapter 14: Land of Many Heroes

The two travelers set off in the morning, once again traveling in silence. Around noon, as they came to the crest of a large hill, Link saw their destination in the valley before them. The town of Diis Evera was actually two separate towns, built on opposite sides of the river and connected by a series of bridges. It was significantly larger than Duun Sedoro, also more crowded, with narrower streets and no open spaces between buildings. They arrived outside the walls within the hour, where they were met by the city guards.

"Please provide identification," their captain requested. Link was puzzled, as he hadn't expected to have to present anything to the guards before entering. Nevertheless, Kitsu pulled out two scrolls from a pouch on his armor and handed them to the waiting guard. Confused by this, Link remained silent as the guard unrolled the scroll to examine its contents. Satisfied, he returned the scrolls to Kitsu and motioned for them to go on their way.

"What was that all about?" Link asked as soon as the guards were out of earshot.

"Diis Evera is a gathering place for mercenaries, heroes, assassins, and such. To prevent the town from becoming a battlefield, anybody entering has to present documentation that gives them permission to enter," the guide explained. "The most common way to obtain permission is to do the council of some other town and be rewarded with the necessary scroll. These scrolls came from the chief elder of Duun Sedoro."

"That seems like a strange way to run a town," he remarked.

"Not really, but that reminds me of something," Kitsu warned. "Whatever you do, don't draw your sword unless you have no other choice, because you'll just be asking for trouble. Child warriors in this town aren't so rare that people won't respect you're strength, but if you pull out a weapon on somebody you're just giving them an opportunity to see if you're really as good as you claim. Anyway, fighting within the town without a permit is forbidden."

"Can we get what we need here?"

"All of that and more. Most of the shops are here in the west end of town, while the east end of town is where you can go to hire somebody. I have a deal with an innkeeper here, so we won't have to worry about finding lodgings for the night."

"You people use rupees as currency, right?"

"It's not the official currency, but travelers with them are common enough that most shops will accept them, though at a slightly discounted price. You'd best let me pay for everything, and we'll find some way you can compensate me later."

Since it was still afternoon, they decided that they would get as much as they could done after they had checked in with the innkeeper Kitsu knew. The innkeeper was a woman by the name of Eris, still in her twenties, who for some reason constantly made Link think of Anju in Clock Town, although the two were clearly different people. She was very friendly, and didn't seem to mind at all that the two boys had appeared without warning and requested a room. The inn, which was called the Traveler's Inn, also had a stable where they could keep the horses. As they went to their room on the second floor, Link asked Kitsu about how well trained and equipped the villagers were.

"Spears and bows, mostly," the boy responded. "The few people in the village who know how to use a sword all have their own weapons. The rest of the guards are either archers or spearmen, sometimes both, and have pretty low quality weapons."

"How many soldiers will we have?" he asked.

"Let's see…" Kitsu paused while he thought about the status of the village. "We have five swordsmen of varying skill levels, and better equipment for them than you'll find here. About two dozen of the villagers can use spears, although we only have about twenty spears that aren't broken, although most of the spears are pretty bad. Fifteen villagers can hit targets reliably with a bow, and we have plenty of bows, though we're beginning to run out of arrows, and don't have the right materials to make them in Duun Sedoro."

"How many people are we up against?" Link inquired.

"Nobody knows for sure. We've faced attacks consisting of as few as six, or as many as thirty. They normally fight hand-to-hand with these weird claw-type weapons."

"This isn't looking very good."

"I know, but there really isn't anything else we can do about it."

"Not necessarily," Link said, an idea coming to him. "You said once that heroes sometimes try sneaking into the canyon to fight the monsters."

"Yeah, they do, but none of them ever come back."

"So why don't we round up a few of the stronger ones while we're here and bring them with us?"

"Why would they want to help us?" Kitsu pointed out pessimistically. "We don't have anywhere near enough money to hire mercenaries."

"They'll help us for lots of reasons," Link explained. "Fame, a challenge, maybe even a couple will help because they think it's the right thing to do. At any rate, this is their chance to finally get into the canyon like they've been trying to do all along."

"It might work," Kitsu admitted dubiously. "We'll give it a try tomorrow, after we get all of the supplies we need."

They eventually decided that they would buy thirty spears and twenty dozen arrows. Link had no idea where Kitsu had gathered enough money to purchase so much equipment, but the warrior had somehow amassed a small fortune of Kiasha's currency, which consisted of small copper, silver, or golden coins. Kitsu also knew which shops should be visited for the best equipment at the lowest price, and by the time the sun had set the equipment was all sitting in packs at the inn. Link was amazed at the familiarity with which Kitsu knew the town of Diis Evera, which exceeded Link's knowledge of his own homeland, Hyrule. That night, Kitsu spent most of his time talking priveately with Eris, leaving Link to check the equipment that they had bought to make sure that they hadn't been cheated in any way. Link decided that Kitsu had been extremely helpful in the past two days, and did the work without objection. He had the feeling that the boy would have found some excuse for not working as hard anyway, so in the end it would have turned out the same no matter how Link felt about the injustice of it.

The next morning, they cautiously made their way to the eastern side of the town. According to Kitsu, there were places all over the town on that side of the river where people would put up notices for jobs that they wanted to hire warriors for. At several of these places that Kitsu claimed were frequented by the more skilled fighters, the two boys quietly placed advertisements for the job they had. The notices told would-be applicants to arrive at the large oak tree east of the city sometime during the day to be examined for their ability. With the flyers placed, Link and Kitsu quickly regrouped at the meeting place and waited for results.

For the first few hours, nobody showed up, and Link began to doubt the plan he had come up with. Around noon, an applicant finally appeared. He walked up wearing full black armor, with a large chain mace slung over his shoulder. He certainly appeared to be tough, but Link had learned in his travels that heavy armor and a large weapon were not a guarantee for victory. Puzzled when he did not find any waiting warriors, the knight searched hard for several minutes. After his search failed to produce results, he finally addressed Link, who was sitting with his back against the tree.

"You there, boy!" he shouted. "What happened to the warriors who placed the notice about a job in the Canyon of Lost Warriors? Have they departed already?"

"We were the ones who posted that job," Kitsu said from the branch of the tree on which he sat, twenty feet above the ground. "What are your qualifications?" With this statement, the knight laughed loudly.

"Surely you jest," he remarked once he had caught his breath. "I am the great knight Tunasri of Dai Tennimo, and have come in search of the heroes who will lead the expedition to purge Duun Sedoro of its dreadful curse. Now tell me, what has become of those heroes?"

"Really, it was us," Kitsu insisted. "Are you in or not?"

Angered, the knight readied his mace and launched a powerful blow at the trunk of the tree directly above Link's head. The impact created a large crater, but Tunasri found he was unable to retract his weapon. The reason for his trouble was a golden sword that the chain of the mace had been wrapped around; effectively trapping it in the few seconds its wielder had had to do so.

"I am Link of Hyrule," the sword's holder announced from where he sat at the base of the tree. He pulled his sword back sharply, freeing the knight's weapon. "If you wish to join us, you must defeat me in combat to the first blood."


	16. Chapter 15: The Protectors of Dun Sedoro

Chapter 15: The Protectors of Duun Sedoro

Link looked across the field at his opponent. Taken aback by the speed with which Link had rendered his weapon useless, Tunasri was not treating the matter lightly anymore. Just as Kitsu had warned Link the day before, such skill in a young boy was not unheard of in Diis Evera. The black-armored knight, who had been laughing a minute earlier, had become deadly serious as he realized that Link was quite possibly a match for his skill. In fact, one of the main reasons the two boys had chosen a meeting place outside of the town was so that they could demonstrate their skill as necessary without sparking a riot.

Link was being especially careful. The large knight was wielding a large chain mace that was more than it seemed, as only seconds before it had extended its chain from the original length of one foot to well beyond the length of Link's body. If he wasn't cautious, he could be accidentally hurt, even if the knight didn't mean any harm. Fortunately, the knight was reluctant to use the mace since Link had already proven he could neutralize it.

The knight began the fight by charging at Link with his mace raised. The chain retracted until it had completely disappeared within the weapon, meaning that the knight could now wield it as a conventional mace without the chain. Link easily dodged the strike, but passed up the opportunity to counterattack and end the duel. Although he had told the knight that he must win to join the expedition, the real purpose of the fight was so that the two boys could analyze the fighting style and ability of their possible allies, then make their own decision regardless of whether the applicant had won or not.

The knight's fighting style was easily figured out; he relied on his heavy armor to protect himself while he focused entirely on striking down his enemy. It was an entirely unpredictable and unreliable strategy in many situations, but when fighting on a team with people guarding the flanks of the attacker, it was definitely a force to be feared. Link kept this in mind as he maintained a safe distance from his opponent's weapon. Once again, the knight swung his mace as the chain extended. As Link moved his sword to trap the heavy metal ball, a second chain launched from the knight's left gauntlet. For the first time in his life, Link found himself fighting another warrior who wielded the hookshot, a spring-loaded tool that had a chain for grappling on to things. In a fatal error, Link decided to block the attack with his sword.

Link's error was caused by his assumption that his opponent's hookshot was the same as his own, with a barbed tip on the end. The hookshot wielded by the knight, instead of such a tip, ended with a metal claw that closed around Link's sword. As the chain retracted, Link's sword was torn from his grip and flung over the knight's shoulder. Momentarily defenseless, Link pulled out his own hookshot from the pack he kept it in.

As the knight fired a second time, Link grabbed the chain in his right hand as it missed him. When the knight reeled it in, Link was brought along. Using his opponent's surprise, Link aimed his hookshot directly at the unarmored joint where the knight's shoulder was and fired. With no choice left, the knight admitted defeat and began to walk away.

"Sir Tunasri, could you wait a minute, please?" Kitsu called out from his watch post in the tree branch. In moments the boy had descended the trunk of the great oak and walked up to Link. "What did you think about him?" he whispered.

"He was fairly strong," Link commented quietly. "He leaves himself open whenever he attacks, but that just means that we'll have to always pair him with somebody. Other than that, we could really use his unique skills."

"Well then, it's decided," Kitsu announced, loud enough that the knight could hear. "I just want to make a few things clear. Should you choose to join our group, you will have to follow our directions. You will most likely not be paid, nor will your family be compensated should you perish. If you accept these terms, it must be unhesitatingly and of your own free will, because there will be no turning back once we leave this town. Do you still wish to join?"

"I'll be damned before I run away from a challenge like this!" the knight yelled enthusiastically. "A warrior shouldn't worry about such petty things when there's a job to be done."

Link began to wonder if bringing the massive knight was really such a good idea. Looking up, he realized that a small crowd of about half a dozen people had gathered around the tree. Several of them, including a soldier wielding a massive sword and an archer who had what looked to be a bladed bow slung across his back, were clearly interested in taking on the job. Others seemed to be simple townspeople who had come to watch the fights in the absence of anything else to do.

"I'll take care of the next one," Kitsu told Link. Raising his voice, he addressed the crowd. "Who will be next?" he asked. The swordsman stepped forward.

"I'll do it," he replied. He drew his sword, which was larger even than the sword that had been used by Ritsuki when Link had fought him in Duun Sedoro. Link and Tunasri walked back up to the tree where they would be out of the way.

The resulting fight failed to impress anybody. Kitsu had ignored opening after opening for a strike before finally deciding that the soldier didn't have any skills that they needed. Link felt the same way, and even Tunasri, who was given a very small say in the decision due to his acceptance to the team, commented that the warrior lacked the power that made his type of fighting truly effective. The same general consensus was reached with all of the other applicants who trickled in throughout the afternoon. A couple hours before sunset, when most of the crowd had left and the two boys had given up hope of finding any more soldiers, the archer who had watched all of the preceding fights stepped forward and readied his bow.

Kitsu, who had been alternating turns with Link, was the one who ended up fighting the last challenger of the day. As he faced his opponent, the archer drew his bow with an arrow, holding it in an uncommon horizontal position. The arrow flew towards the young boy, not aimed at the head or chest but so that it would merely graze the arm. In a blur of motion, Kitsu drew his slender knife and knocked the arrow out of its path. The archer had already prepared a second arrow, and was muttering a strange incantation over it. As the arrow flew, it seemed to pulsate with light. Once again Kitsu brought up his knife to block it, but this time the arrow hit it with a flash of light and knocked the blade out of the warrior's hand. Slowing down only slightly, the arrow continued on its original path, nicking Kitsu's shoulder and continuing on until it hit a hillside some distance behind him. The wound on Kitsu's shoulder was the first one that either of the boys had received that day, meaning that of the two dozen or so applicants, only this archer had actually won the challenge. Kitsu looked back to Link, who nodded his approval.

"Congratulations, Mr…" Kitsu started to say before realizing that he did not know the archer's name.

"Morris," the archer filled in. Although it was almost dark by this point, Link had gotten a good look at him earlier when he first showed up to observe. He had short reddish hair and glasses, and wore a cloth over his lower face in a manner similar to Kitsu. Other than that, he wore simple leather armor with no decoration.

"Well then, Mr. Morris, do you understand the terms that we have laid out? The decision to join is entirely up to you, but you won't be getting anywhere near the canyon if you don't accept them."

"I accept," Morris replied without hesitation. Even the part of his face that Link could see was unreadable, making Link wonder just how much like Kitsu this new recruit was. As there were no more challengers for the day, the four warriors gathered under the oak tree for further instruction.

"From this point on," Kitsu began, "We four are the Protectors of Duun Sedoro. We will spend the rest of the night taking inventory of our current equipment, reviewing abilities, and laying out some general strategies for common battle situations. Tomorrow morning, we'll set out for Duun Sedoro, where we'll stay until we have a more definitive plan of action. For now I am in charge of the group, although Link will take command when we reach Duun Sedoro. Are there any questions?"  
"Where will we be staying tonight?" Morris asked.

"For tonight, we will be staying at the Traveler's Inn. Lodging costs will be covered by me. Do either of you have mounts?" Both of them replied that they did.

"Very well, you may move them to the inn tonight if you wish, or you can retrieve them in the morning. If there are no more questions, we should get moving back towards town." Together the four of them began to travel back. They reached the Inn without incident, and Link went up to his room to put away his sword before they began laying out plans. While he was walking back down the stairs, he heard a vaguely familiar voice coming from the common room and paused.

"Please," the voice pleaded. "You have to come to the village right away."

"You'll have to take that up with our leader, I'm afraid," he heard Tunasri reply.

"Great knight, are you telling me you are not the leader of this group?"

"Don't flatter him to much," Morris said from the corner of the room. "He'll become unbearably annoying. Our leader is that boy in the corner." Link finished walking down the stairs and turned the corner. The owner of the voice was Ritsuki, and he looked as though he had gone days without sleep.

"Kitsu, please!" the villager begged.

"Oh, get up. You look pathetic on your knees like that." He looked up to see Link entering the room. "There's been a change of plans," he announced. "We're going to leave tonight, as soon as we can get everything together."

"What happened?" Link asked the three who had been in the room.

"While we were away, the monsters returned," Kitsu reported. "They penetrated the village and took several people as captives."


	17. Chapter 16: The Value of a Life

Chapter 16: The Value of a Life

Within hours of Ritsuki's arrival at the Traveler's Inn, the five were already moving with all possible speed towards the village. From what Link managed to get ou t of everybody who had been in the common room when the exhausted villager had stumbled in, there had been an attack on the village the second night after Link and Kitsu had left. Although several villagers were killed, Ritsuki seemed more alarmed that there were about a dozen who had been taken captive. From his conversation with the swordsman the night before his departure, Link understood what was going on in his head at the moment. While he regretted that there had been deaths, Ritsuki was troubled because he felt that the captives could be rescued if he had had the necessary strength. Since nobody knew how long captives were kept alive, Ritsuki had ridden at full gallop to the town in search of the two departed warriors. His horse was almost dead on its feet, so Ritsuki rode on Macha with Kitsu.

Outside the walls of Diis Evera, the three met up with Tunasri and Morris. Morris rode a nameless black gelding, while the enormous knight, whose weight would be a burden for any breed of horse, was mounted atop a dodongo. Although Link had never heard of one of the giant reptiles being tamed, he supposed that the knight knew what he was doing. They set off as fast as they could along the riverbank, perhaps going faster at times as was advisable in the dark. They continued this way for several hours, resting their mounts at times by slowing them to a walk but never stopping completely. According to Kitsu, they could cut the journey down to two days by traveling in such a fashion.

When it was only a few hour before dawn, they began to notice pale flames of varying colors keeping pace with them. At first Kitsu seemed to ignore them, but as time went on the flames increased in number, with some beginning to appear in front of the party. Finally, Kitsu made a decision. He signaled the others to a halt and dismounted.

"Link, I want you and Ritsuki to keep going to the village," he ordered in a tone that left no question as to his intentions. "Just follow the river to the ridge, and you're set from there. The rest of us are just slowing the group down, and I need to stay with these two so we can find our way when we're done." Realizing that speed was important, Link followed the orders without question, and the two swordsmen rode off to the north as fast as their horses could carry them.

As he glanced back, Link saw the flames closing in on their companions' location as a flash of light lit the early morning sky. Reminding himself that he had a job to do, Link gave the scene behind him one last look before returning his attention to the area before them. Link and Ritsuki rode until noon, when they finally reached the passage to the Canyon of Lost Warriors. Their horses were unable to go on any further, so the two warriors dismounted and waited two hours. Nothing was said during that time, but both of them knew what the other was thinking: that the delay was costing them precious time.

Finally, they set off again. Due to the rough ground and the condition of their mounts, they were not able to travel as fast as they had before, but they still made good time. By the time the sun set, less than a full day after departing, the two were within a day's ride of the village. Knowing that to push the horses any more would be cruel, the two fighters set up a camp to rest for the night. Again, there was the feeling of urgency, but Link knew that they would not be able to do anything if they arrived at Duun Sedoro after two sleepless days and nights. As the sun rose the next morning, the two rode away at full speed.

Shortly after noon, the village was in sight. From a distance, it appeared as though nothing had happened, but Link knew better. Within the walls, the villagers carried on their duties with an air of sorrow about them. Link and Ritsuki, slowing down only slightly as they passed through the gates, rode directly to the town hall to find the five elders standing outside.

"Chief Elder Farric," Ritsuki began, taking a deep breath as he addressed the council, "I hereby request permission to lead the soldiers of this village into the canyon, so that we may rid ourselves of the threat to this village once and for all!"

"So foolish," Taketsu openly remarked. "I can sympathize with your feelings, Ritsuki, but we cannot justify risking the lives of the entire village for a few who may not have even survived this long. It's time you woke up to the truth."

"It may be foolish," the swordsman admitted, "but since I joined the village guards, there has not been a single death from those monsters. I will not let them do this!"

"I am against this!" Taketsu shouted, outraged. "Since when have we allowed for people to come before this council and express such foolish desires?"

"Regrettably, I must side with Taketsu on this," Thoreau stated. "Although I would indeed like to see the day when we of Duun Sedoro can live without fear, taking such an action with the village in its current condition is a suicide mission."

"Cowards!" Katan yelled. The other elders turned to stare at the guard captain. "I want to be able to retire without just pushing this duty onto some youngster. Now is as good a time as any, so I say go for it!"

"You're just as rash as he is," Naomi chided the commander. "Would you really strip this village of its defenses so foolishly? The entire notion is wrong."

"The council of elders has spoken," Farric announced. "Guardsman Ritsuki, your request is denied."

The two swordsmen walked away towards the center of the village. Ritsuki was clearly angry, and Link knew what was going through his head. As they reached the central intersection where they had first dueled, Ritsuki turned left, towards the path that led deeper into the canyon. Link followed silently, knowing what the older warrior was going to do. At the west gate, Ritsuki turned around to regard Link.

"You'll accompany me?" he asked directly. Link nodded his approval, and the two passed through the gate into the canyon. Remembering something, Link took the packs with supplies for the village and placed them right inside the gate. It was only half of what they had bought, since the packs had been split evenly among the four mounts.

Outside the gate, they mounted up and rode down the path. Link had no idea where they were going, and Ritsuki seemed to be traveling purely on instinct. Around sunset, the warriors reached the great stone arch where Link and Kitsu had first met. Instead of crossing it, Ritsuki continued straight, finding a heavily concealed trail among the cliffs. In the end, the trail proved to be too difficult for the horses, so Epona and Macha were released while the two continued on foot. They walked all night, and in the light of the rising sun they saw an encampment ahead. As the light grew brighter, Link finally saw their targets. They wore black hooded cloaks, and their faces were covered. Ritsuki drew his sword and started towards them, but Link grabbed his arm, stopping him. Ritsuki appeared irritated but complied.

Pulling out his bow and five arrows, Link shifted forward for a better position. He stuck four of the arrows point down into the ground where he could easily reach them, and placed the fifth against his bow string. As he drew his bow and took aim, he muttered the incantation that had been taught to him to harness the power of light. The arrowhead took on a faint halo as Link released it and it flew towards the closest of the figures. Just as Morris' arrow had done against Kitsu, the arrow hit the figure with a flash of light, but unlike the archer Link had aimed for a killing shot. As the figures gathered around the body to investigate, Link released arrow after arrow until the ones he had set aside were all gone. With five arrows, he had eliminated five targets, but the rest were heading towards Link's location.

Link unsheathed his great golden sword. At the same time, Ritsuki put his away and drew the slender silver blades that he carried sheathed on his back. Not waiting for the enemies to finish their approach, the two warriors charged. Within minutes, each of the remaining targets had been systematically eliminated by the two swordsmen, who were now on their way to the encampment.

The element of surprise had worked well in their favor, but now they were on the enemy's terms. As they neared the encampment, the two swordsmen were attacked by a hoard of cloaked figures and forced apart. Ritsuki was backed into a corner by a trio of them, but appeared to be holding his own. Link, on the other hand, found himself up against over a dozen enemies. Eventually, he was forced to flee into the main structure, leaving the villager to deal with the others on his own. Almost instantly Link regretted his decision, as he was overpowered by the strange beings and taken captive.


	18. Chapter 17: Mirror of Darkness

Chapter 17: Mirror of Darkness

Link found himself chained to the wall behind him. The cloaked warriors had been careful to remove all of his weapons and equipment from him, leaving Link defenseless. The room he was in was almost completely bare, except for a large, cloth covered object on the wall opposite him. He could vaguely make out that it was a flat, circular shape, but could tell no more than that.

After some time, dark figures began to file into the room. There were seven in all, with six of them standing in two parallel lines running between Link and the covered object, and the seventh figure standing in the middle of the formation. With a quick pull, the middle figure removed the cloth that had been covering the object. Underneath was a large circular mirror, although it didn't seem too function as a normal mirror did. As Link looked into its dark surface, framed by an ornate silver border, he saw no reflections of the room. Instead, clouds of darkness billowed around the surface of the mirror, completely obscuring whatever was shown within, although Link noticed that a dim light was shining through the clouds of the mirror, bathing everything in the room in a blood-red glow.

With the mirror revealed, the seven cloaked figures began to chant in a strange, harsh language that Link did not recognize. As their chant grew more and more intense, the clouds began to fade away from the center of the mirror, revealing another, darker shape within. The clouds peeled away even more to reveal the silhouette of a man, clothed in a tunic and wielding a broadsword. Where his eyes should have been, there were dull flames that grew more intense as he looked at you. Recognizing the profile within the mirror, Link knew that he could not let the clouds vanish completely from the surface of the mirror.

With no time to waste, Link began his own incantation. Unnoticed at first, the cloaked beings continued their chant. It was not until Link had almost finished his spell when they noticed what he was doing, and by then it was too late. The air around the captive hero shimmered as the temperature soared. It continued rising until the air itself caught fire, forming a globe of orange flames around Link. Almost immediately after appearing, the globe expanded to fill every corner of the room, burning the cloaked figures alive.

When Link looked up, the figure and clouds had vanished from the mirror, which was now just a flat sheet of jet-black stone. Relieved that he had made it in time, Link sat up, a feat easily done now that the fastenings that had held the chains around his limbs to the wall had melted away. Failing to locate any of his equipment and assuming that it had been placed in another room, Link began walking towards the door. With every step he took, it seemed even harder for him to remain standing. At first he was worried that he had been poisoned when he had been taken prisoner, but then he figured out the true reason: going days without sleep, and casting six spells in a short period of time, Link's body simply couldn't continue any farther. Link reached the door by crawling on his hands and knees before finally falling unconscious.

When he awoke, he was puzzled to find himself in the same room in which he had awoken the morning after Ritsuki had shown him the monument. His equipment was nowhere to be found, and he found several places where wounds that had been inflicted on him during the fight against the cloaked warriors had been bandaged. His body was still sluggish, but he found that he could move around well enough. Once again, Link opened the door and stepped through.

"It's about time you got up," Karina commented as Link ate his second bowl of the strange breakfast. "You slept for over a day."

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

"Don't tell that to me," she told him. "Tell it to my brother; he was the one worried about you. But for that matter…" she grabbed a long-handled wooden spoon from the table and began beating him about the head with it. "Why did you leave after you said you would come back and visit, you big idiot?" Fending off her attacks, Link managed to get to the front door. As he hurried outside, he nearly ran into Ritsuki, who was walking in the opposite direction.

"What are you doing here?" he asked after narrowly avoiding a collision with the villager.

"Am I no longer allowed to occasionally visit my own house?" the swordsman replied. "This is where I live."

Karina emerged from the doorway, having heard the older warrior's voice. "Big brother!" she exclaimed, nearly knocking Link over as she ran to Ritsuki and embraced him. "You should thank him for saving you," she said quietly to Link as she let go of her brother.

"What are you talking about?" Link asked her. "I was the one doing the hardest work."

"My idea of 'hard work' doesn't really involve sleeping," a familiar voice commented from the rooftop. "Are all hylians this lazy?" There was slight pause as the owner of the voice jumped down from the roof into view, but Link had known even before he had recognized the voice who it would be.

"What were you doing, taking your time?" Link asked as Kitsu brushed some dust off his legs. "We could have used your help during that fight."

"I was helping during that fight," the warrior retorted. "While you were napping inside the fortress, the rest of the Protectors were outside battling the enemy. If you two would have waited about half an hour before rushing off, you would have met up with us first."

"I'm sorry, I must have missed out on learning how to take on about three dozen enemies who attack all at the same time," Link replied. "Tell me, what would you have done?" Almost immediately after finishing that comment, Link was assaulted from behind.

"You should be nicer to Kitsu!" Karina shouted as she hit Link a second time. "He can do anything, and he's going to marry me someday!"

"I never said that!" Kitsu exclaimed. "By the way, the elders want to see Link, and asked me to bring him to them." He grabbed Link's arm and dragged him away until they were several buildings down and out of sight.

"Why do the elders want to see me?" Link asked.

"They don't," the boy admitted, "but that girl drives me crazy. I don't know where she got this creepy fixation, but the sooner we leave the better." Link nodded in agreement, he knew how annoying that sort of thing could get.

"What happened to the villagers?" Link inquired. The question had been on his mind since he had woken up, but he hadn't wanted to bring it up in front of Ritsuki and Karina in case the results hadn't been good.

"Well, they're obviously okay," the boy answered, "Since that irritating little girl back there was one of them."

"Ritsuki's sister?" Link asked, surprised. Everything about the swordsman made sense now, from his desperation to rescue the captured villagers to his behavior regarding the mysterious people in general. He continued pondering this as the two walked through the streets of Duun Sedoro. After crossing the main street, they wandered in a generally south-east direction, coming to a stop in front of a two story building that was built up against the side of the cliff.

"This is my house," Kitsu explained. "Well, the second floor is. The bottom has been abandoned for a long time, since before I came here." Link recalled that the boy had offered Link a place to stay, but it had ended up that Link hadn't needed to. In the upstairs room, Link found his weapons and equipment.

"What were those things?" he asked. "You said they were monsters, but also humans. Which is it?"

"Both," the warrior replied. "Long ago, they were men, but it is said that they betrayed their masters and were exiled. They fled to this canyon, where they began to steal the lives of others in exchange for power. By doing so, they became monsters."

"Why did you want to kill them so much?" Link asked. He knew this was an uncomfortable subject for the secretive warrior, but it was something that he wanted to know about the other.

"I…" the warrior fumbled for words, but did not refuse the question. Link patiently waited, trying to put as little pressure on the other boy as possible. "My parents were killed by them, when I was young. I managed to escape and made it to Duun Sedoro, where some people here helped me out." Link tried to think of some way to respond to this revelation, but nothing came to mind. "That's all in the past now, though," Kitsu said, resuming his normal manner. "Have you given any thought of where we're going?"

"We?"

"That was our deal, wasn't it?" the warrior reminded him. "I helped you with this, so now you have to lead me back to Hyrule. You weren't thinking of trying to abandon me, were you?"

The following morning, the assembled villagers waved as the two boys rode up the path to the fields of Kiasha. While Kitsu would have preferred quietly sneaking away in the middle of the night, Link wasn't in any condition to travel for that day. He had also thought it was only fair to give Ritsuki, Tunasri, and Morris the chance to come along, although all three had declined the offer. As the sun rose in the sky before them, the two young heroes rode off together on their next journey.

**Author's note: Well, this marks the end of the first section of the Legend of Zelda: Alone Once More. I would like to thank Austln, BlueIrish, tikitikirevenge, and simbiot2.0 for their continued support and reviews.**


	19. Chapter 18: Towards a New Frontier

Chapter 18: Towards a New Frontier

Kitsu looked back towards the village of Duun Sedoro. It did no good, as the two travelers had passed through the fissure leading out of the canyon a day earlier. Now for the first time in many years, the warrior had nothing to tie him down. Kitsu was free at last, free of his own feelings of debt, both to the villagers and his own parents.

Kitsu and Link had hardly spoken in the past few days since they had left the village. Even the nighttime talks that they had sometimes had while they were still working to free the village no longer happened, and the two rode in complete silence during the day. They had no real idea of where they were headed, but had decided before leaving that the canyon that the town of Diis Evera would be as good of a place as any to start their journey. They traveled at a leisurely pace, taking frequent rests for the benefit of themselves and their horses, who had been pushed hard in the return journey from Diis Evera to the canyon. Kitsu was mostly glad for the silence, as there were still things about his past that he wasn't ready to share with his new traveling companion. Link had asked no more questions about the young warrior's past since leaving Duun Sedoro, seeming to intuitively understand that it was a subject that Kitsu felt uncomfortable talking about.

Kitsu wondered how long he could keep secrets from Link. While the young swordsman mostly respected Kitsu's privacy, he couldn't hide the fact that he wanted to know more about his companion. In addition, Link had made no attempt to conceal any part of his past, placing complete trust in the other warrior. His lack of any suspicions made Kitsu feel guilty for not displaying a similar trust. On the other hand, Kitsu was not ready to reveal some of the things that had occurred in his past, knowing that it would change the way Link viewed the warrior completely. In the end, Kitsu decided that he would continue to travel in silence, and hope that he didn't slip and reveal anything.

They traveled for another day before reaching the town. The guard let them in after he had seen their papers, and the two headed immediately to the Traveler's Inn. Once alone in their room, Kitsu removed from his pack a scroll, speaking for the first time in over a day as he unrolled it.

"This is a map of Kiasha," he said as he showed it to Link. "Duun Sedoro is on the north-western edge of the map. Diis Evera is just north of the center of the land, right here." He pointed to the dot on the map that indicated the town.

"Do you have any idea how we can leave the country?" Link asked.

"The river running through Diis Evera runs south for a good distance before turning southeast," he explained. "I've heard that it eventually hits the ocean, but not for a long time. There isn't really anything to the east, just a field that seems to go on forever. The west has mountains that we might be able to find a pass through, but I've never heard of anybody actually doing it and returning."

"So the east is our best bet?" Link asked. Based on the directions he had traveled in since leaving, Hyrule should be almost due west of Kiasha. East would be in the complete opposite direction, and following the river didn't seem much better. "What's to the south?"

"More mountains, but even less of a chance that we could get through them," the warrior replied. "East would seem to be the quickest way out of the country, but the fields get rougher and rougher the deeper you travel. We might be better off following the river, at least for a little bit."

Link frowned. Any way that he could easily follow seemed to lead away from his homeland. "Let's try finding a passage through the mountains, first," he suggested. "I'm just about certain that we need to head east, and just because nobody's ever returned doesn't mean that they never made it out."

"If you think that's best," Kitsu agreed passively. "We should head out towards the east, because that's where most of the people who disappear go to." He rolled up the map and returned it to his pack. With the decision made, the two boys turned in early so that they could catch an early start the next day as they headed towards a new frontier.

**Author's note: Here is the final chapter of the first part of this story (I mean it this time). I would like to thank Austln, BlueIrish, tikitikirevenge, and simbiot2.0 for their continued support and reviews.**


	20. Chapter 19: Adventurer's Genesis

Chapter 19: Adventurer's Genesis

Grassland stretched as far as the eye could see. Far off in the distance lay the dark-hued silhouettes of mountains, looming closer little by little with each passing day. It was nearly a week after Link and Kitsu had left Diis Evera, and the town had long since faded from view. Once again, Link was awed by the vast distances that existed within Kiasha. He estimated the distance which they had traveled since leaving the town behind them was enough to travel the entire length of Hyrule. Link felt more alone then ever, with nobody around for miles in any direction.

Nobody except for Kitsu, that is, although it hardly made a difference. The boy had barely spoken in the past week, with the last time being well over a day previously. Even though he now traveled with another boy his age, Link might as well have still been traveling by himself. The mysterious young warrior had resisted any attempts by Link to open up, even though they appeared to have much in common. After a week of trying to start a conversation only to be ignored at every attempt, Link was ready to give up on communicating with his new traveling partner.

They continued on for another half of a week before finally reaching the western mountains of Kiasha. According to Kitsu's map, it should have only taken them slightly longer than the trip from Duun Sedoro to Diis Evera to get as far as they had, meaning that the map was most likely inaccurate with scale and distance. As such, they couldn't tell where they were in relation to the nearest town, Dai Tennimo. They discussed their situation after they had set up an encampment where they could stay.

"We're most likely north of the town," Kitsu reasoned. Although he had never actually been to the western mountains, he was more familiar with the land in general. "Since the distance going west was greater than the map showed, it stands to reason that it would be greater going north and south, also." Link thought that the other's logic made sense, but something about it bothered him.

"Well, we can't be sure," he replied. "It would probably be better if one of us were to travel a little bit to the north first, then return after a day or so."

"Why only one of us?" Kitsu asked. "neither of us are really faster than the other, and it makes a lot more sense if we both go, so that we won't waste time running back and forth in the unlikely event that the town is to the north."

"I can move faster alone," Link insisted. "I can cover a lot of ground in only three days, so you should stay here while I check things out."

"I don't like this plan," Kitsu said openly. "Too many things could go wrong here, and if we get separated it could take forever to find each other again."

"It will be fine as long as you don't move anymore than necessary," Link reassured him. "If I'm not back in three days, don't panic or it will just become harder for me to find this spot again."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kitsu asked, concerned. "We aren't really in a rush; we can take the time to stay together."

Link shook his head. "I don't know how to get back to Hyrule or how long it would take," he admitted. "We're acting purely on instinct here, and I want to be as quick as possible in case this is the wrong way."

"I still don't like it," Kitsu said.

"If you have a reason not to go through with this, just say it," Link told him.

"It's not really a reason," Kitsu replied reluctantly. "I just have this feeling… something bad is going to happen. I don't know what the circumstances leading up to it will be, but something about this plan doesn't feel right."

"I promise to be careful," Link assured him. He took the first watch as usual. After a short sleep, Kitsu woke him for the third and final watch of the night. Link waited until long after Kitsu's breathing became regular and he stopped stirring, then got up and walked away from the camp a little ways. Reaching into his pack, Link pulled out a mask. At first glance, it appeared to be just a simple mask, bearing a resemblance to the rock-like Gorons who lived in Hyrule and Termina. Link had yet to see one of the rock-eaters in Kiasha, but blending in right now was not the issue. Although slow on their feet, the Gorons could reach impressive speeds by curling into a ball and rolling themselves forward.

As he placed the mask over his face, Link felt his spirit fuse with the departed soul of Darmani, a Goron of Termina. The process was not pleasant, with every nerve in his body feeling as though it had been set on fire. It was only through extreme effort that Link suppressed the urge to scream in agony. When the transformation was over and the pain had faded away to become a mere memory, Link stood as a Goron. Knowing that Kitsu would soon be awake and wondering where Link had gone, he rolled himself up into a ball and began to travel.

He hated having to deceive his friend, but he knew that Kitsu needed time to be alone. On the journey from Diis Evera, they had had to remain together at all times or else they would be separated, but this journey gave Link the perfect excuse to give the other some privacy. He was hoping that the young warrior would be back to normal after a few days of solitude, and looked forward to being able to ride together without the oppressive silence hanging about them.

Link traveled in a generally northward direction for a full day, never seeing any signs of a town. On the second day he was ready to turn back and reunite with Kitsu when something caught his gaze. Hidden in the shadow of the cliffs was what appeared to be a village, probably the one they were looking for. As he drew nearer to it, he saw what appeared to be more Gorons on the outskirts. Unsure of what to do, he approached them and tried talking to some of them. They regarded him with a blank stare before Link found himself falling into unconsiousness.


	21. Chapter 20: Clouds of Blood

Chapter 20: Clouds of Blood

Link awoke in a cramped stone cell. He was still in his Goron form, and all of his equipment and weapons had been taken away from him. There did not appear to be any guards outside the cell, only an empty stone hallway. The cell itself looked as though escape should have been impossible. The walls were made of solid stone, with no holes or windows. On the side facing the hallway, iron bars created a barrier. The cell appeared to have been made to hold Gorons, so the bars remained even when Link struck at them with all of his strength.

Being made for Gorons, the bars were placed farther apart than one would usual expect. Seeing no other choice, Link removed the mask he wore. After the transformation, it was a simple matter for him to slip through the bars and escape in that manner. After much consideration, Link decided that he would put the mask on whenever he didn't need to be in his human form. Although it wouldn't be pleasant if he had to squeeze through more doors, it was better to be prepared for a fight at any time, and an unarmed adult Goron was infinitely stronger than an unarmed Hylian kid.

He was lucky at first; there were no guards in sight. There were a few other cells in the corridor, but they were all empty. As he wandered around looking for an exit passage, he saw light ahead that appeared to be coming from outside. Sure enough, there was a barred window overlooking the plains of Kiasha. The sun was visible just over the horizon, meaning that it was most likely morning of the day after Link had been captured.

Link now found himself faced with a new problem. Originally, he had assumed that he was in an underground dungeon, or just on the ground level of a structure. As he looked out over the plains, he realized that they lay a good distance below him. Since the building he was in was so high up on the cliffs, he had no idea whether the exit was above or below his current location. He hoped that he would not have to make such a choice, and that the building was relatively small.

Such was not the case. Link quickly found a ladder leading down out of the cell block, but afterwards things just got worse. The base of the ladder was placed in a labyrinth of passageways, with no way to tell which way was out. In the end, he just chose a corridor at random and followed it to see where it took him. Within minutes, Link was completely disoriented. He was about ready to give up when he saw something down a side passage. Before, the light in the maze had come from dim torches in brackets along the walls, but something about the color of the light appeared different now. He turned down the passage to investigate.

The hallway ended in a round stone room. A dark pit took up most of the floor, although Link was unable to see what was inside it due to a thick fog that lay just below the level of the floor. He got down on his hands and knees to get a better look into it. As he gazed into its depths, he began to get the impression that something was changing within. At the center of the pit, the fog had begun to take on a slightly reddish color, not easily noticeable at first but becoming more vibrant with each passing second. The air in the chamber began to feel hot and stale, even to Link's Goron body which was capable of taking extreme heat. Whatever was in the pit, Link had no intention of staying to find out what it was.

He had turned the corner when a flash of light lit the walls behind him. Link quickly curled up into a ball and rolled away as fast as he could. Behind him, angry red clouds drifted after him, never approaching too closely but never disappearing either, and always on the move. Link turned corner after corner in an attempt to escape from whatever was within the fog. Several times he was about to turn a corner when he noticed the fog already in front of him that way, and quickly changed course before being forced into it.. The fog actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As nearly as Link could tell, it didn't expand much except while following him, and so prevented him from wandering in circles through the same passageways. Link knew, however, that he would eventually find himself cornered.

This happened in another round stone chamber. This one was lager than the first, with multiple entrances and without the central pit. As he approached the center of the room, he saw blood-red clouds billowing into the room from all six entrances, although none of it came near the center of the room. It became so thick around the edges of the chamber that Link could no longer make out the torches on the wall, leaving the room lit only by the dull red glow coming from the clouds. The glow intensified suddenly in a great pulse, then faded just as fast to the point where it was dimmer than ever.

With a sound that echoed throughout the fog-filled labyrinth, Link's Goron mask fell to the ground. Link found himself returned to normal, as powerless and defenseless as ever.


	22. Chapter 21: Beacon of Hope

Chapter 21: Beacon of Hope

No matter how hard he tried, Link couldn't get the mask to work again. Whatever had happened when the light within the angry red clouds had dramatically increased in brilliance, it had rendered Link's only remaining item useless. Now, with the fog drifting closer through the stale air of the stone chamber, Link was running out of time. The fog was so close that he could reach out and touch it, had he wanted to. Quite to the contrary, however, Link was desperately thinking of any way to protect himself.

In the end, he saw that he really had no other choice. Gathering all of his remaining strength, he called upon the goddess of wisdom to send her protection. His spell manifested as a blue-tinted diamond that enveloped him completely, warding off the fog. Gathering all of his courage, he ran directly into the blood-colored mists. Bright silhouettes of creatures he couldn't name reached out for him, and brilliant flames blossomed around the outside of his shield in a dazzling display. Past all of this, he sensed a greater being lurking in the fog.

Unfortunately, he knew the diamond wouldn't last forever. The spell required energy that he didn't have, and eventually it would fail, leaving Link stranded and powerless before the creatures dwelling within the mists. He was no longer concerned with finding the way back to the fields; at the moment he would have settled for any exit out of the labyrinth, even if it meant returning to his cell. As the minutes went by and he still found no way out, Link knew that he was going to die.

The ground beneath him shook with unseen power, and Link felt himself rising as the floor beneath him began to move. The fog around him grew thinner and thinner, until Link felt it safe to release the spell. However, he didn't dissipate the protective crystal completely, so that he would be able to raise his defenses at a moment's notice.

The amorphous creatures that had reached out towards him from the fog were gone, although flames still danced among the clouds wherever he looked. He no longer had any idea how high he had risen, but he still felt the greater presence just below him. It was constantly looming closer, always hanging in the edge of his vision without revealing itself. Without warning, the platform stopped, and the demon presented itself. The flames within the clouds were not dancing anymore; they raged everywhere. Within them Link could make out the outline of a figure, not that of a man but something much, much larger. It towered over Link, glaring at him through the flames with angry red eyes.

Link was forced to renew the spell as a blast of fire launched out at him from the side; he barely made it as the flames splashed against the sides of his hastily raised shield. He somehow knew that the attack nothing compared to what the being was truly capable of. As such, he left his protection in place, weakening it only slightly so that it would hold off any attack until he could reinforce it. His intuition was right; the next blast came much quicker and harder. With each of the enemy's strikes, Link could feel the increase in power. There was no pattern to where or when they would come, and any warning signs were too late or subtle for him to detect and react. He only knew that the attacks would come, and that he would have to stop them when they did. Failure to do so would only result in death.

The final blow was completely different from the others. Where the others had been singular attacks, this one came as a stream of fire that never ceased. As the attack went on, the clouds of blood began to press inward to the center of the platform where Link was trying to hold his ground. Bright flames enveloped his crystal, constantly eating away at it from the outside as the demon poured more and more of its will into shattering the barrier. Just as desperately, Link sent all of his energy into reinforcing the shield even as it dissolved away. He could feel his strength draining away as he struggled to hold his shield against the flames. Mustering his willpower, he concentrated as hard as he could on pushing the flames back. At the same time, a great pulse of fire ran through the stream of the demon's attack. For a moment there was a blinding flash of light just outside Link's protective crystal, and then a great shockwave blasted its way through the air. The flames and the fog were pushed back, clearing the platform, although they remained along the edges where the hateful, glowing eyes dwelt. Unfortunately, the impact also slammed toward the young warrior with full force. His shield took the impact, but even its divine protection couldn't save him from being knocked off of the platform into the dark mists below.

Link was relieved to find that there were no harmful effects from the mist that he could detect, but he knew that there were other dangers lurking around. Surely enough, the red eyes continued to stare at him from above, always moving to follow. Throwing more of his life force into a spell, enough that he thought for a moment that he would pass out into unconsciousness, he closed his eyes and prayed to the goddesses for help. His crystal failed, as he had taken all energy from that to cast his final spell.

Despite his dire situation, an immense calm fell over Link. With his eyes closed, the mists were nothing more than a distant memory, one that was easily forgotten. Likewise, the demon and its intense flames were invisible to him. In this calm state of mind, he knew that he could take on whatever was thrown at him. All fears and anxieties were torn from his mind and flung away, and Link knew that his final prayer had been heard. Even though he saw nothing of the outside world, he could feel the power forming in front of him, pushing the fog back and holding the demon at bay.

Thanking the goddesses for their response to his prayer, opened his eyes and reached out, closing his fingers around the glowing form of a sword in front of him.


	23. Chapter 22: Sword of Divine Light

Chapter 22: Sword of Divine Light

The demonic creature recoiled as Link tightened his grip around the hilt of the sword. Later he would wonder about how he had managed to somehow call forth the Master Sword, much less use it before he should have been ready to do so, but for now those concerns were of no importance. All other things faded away into nothingness, all that existed to Link was himself and his opponent.

Link dropped to the ground, taking note of the fact that he had somehow done so without sustaining any injury but otherwise remaining entirely focused on the great being. The fog was no longer pressing around him as had been the case while he had been traveling through the labyrinth or during the final attack on the platform above. Instead, they merely formed a barrier around the region, giving Link no choice but to fight. Flames still danced within, but they were not as numerous or as active as they had before.

Great gouts of flames suddenly flew towards the sky in front of Link as evil red eyes watched from behind. Through the inferno stepped a dark creature, giving the young boy his first good look at his opponent. It appeared mostly to have the shape of a man, wreathed in intense flames the color of blood. It had no discernable head, with the eyes simply set into a bulge at the top of the being's main body. Its arms were also massively deformed, reaching all the way to the ground. As it entered the circle, it raised itself up on its burning legs and let out a scream that paralyzed Link with fear.

Had he not been holding the Master Sword, he knew that he would have never recovered in time. With the powerful sword in his grip, however, he was able to motivate himself to keep moving. As Link began circling his opponent, the creature raised one of its massive arms, pointing it at Link. Without warning, the arm extended greatly in length and nearly caught Link, who had barely enough time to jump out of the way. In the spot where he had just been, the ground was cracked and scorched, with small fissures filled with molten rock.

Link knew that being caught even by just the fringe of the demon's deadly attacks would most likely be fatal. Determined to end the battle as soon as possible, he rushed forward with his sword ready. He narrowly dodged another blast from the creature, and then he was almost on top of it. With all of the strength he could manage, he swung the master sword through the being in an upward slash. The blade emerged from between the creature's eyes in a great blast of fire, and the creature flinched. Link continued slashing away at the eyes of the monster until he could barely lift the sword. Even so, he managed to push himself until he got in one final blow to the creature's chest.

An increase in the heat coming off the demon knocked Link back off his feet, and the Master Sword was knocked out of his hands. The sword flew through the air to the other side of the circle, but Link never heard it hit the ground. Instead, the boy watched as the sword slowed its descent to hover just above the ground. As Link watched in astonishment, the sword began to glow as sparks of light drifted upwards from it. Within a minute, the glow from the sword had faded, leaving behind no trace of the powerful artifact. Defenseless, Link waited for a final blow that did not come. When he looked up, he saw flames being cast of from the demon, which became dimmer and dimmer. With each great burst of flames that came off of it, the creature let out a great howl. Unlike the scream it had given earlier, these were not screams of anger and rage but those of pain and suffering. When the flames were gone, all that was left was a stone statue of the being, which slowly crumbled away into dust. Around the edges of the room the fog was lifting, but Link was already falling into unconsciousness.

Link found himself standing in a vast field. It was greater even than the plains of Kiasha, extending perfectly flat in all directions as far as Link could see. Far in front of him, he caught a glimpse of what appeared to be at first a floating ball of light. Suddenly hopeful, Link ran towards the light. The more he ran, the further away the ball became. The sky darkened as thunderclouds rolled across the horizon. When he could no longer see the light, Link turned around to find a dark figure following his every move.


	24. Chapter 23: Arisen from Ashes

Chapter 23: Arisen from Ashes

Link woke up in the same stone chamber where he had fought the demonic flame creature. He was lying on his back in the center of the room, which was odd since he remembered being near the edge earlier. There was no trace of the Master Sword, which caused him to panic until he remembered it fading away into nothingness. The fog was gone, and Link seriously began to doubt that any of the events he recalled had ever happened. The only reassurance he had that told him he wasn't going insane was that he wasn't wearing his Goron Mask.

Not that it was much of a reassurance, since that meant he had no weapons or means of attack whatsoever. He tried to get up, but found that there was a sharp pain in his arms. For the first time, Link noticed that there were bandages wrapped from his hands halfway to his elbows, and he wondered when he had injured himself. Even in the bizarre memories of fighting the fire being, he could not remember being hurt. Either way, whether he had hurt himself fighting a demon or in some other way, he was too exhausted to move on his own.

As he lay unmoving on the floor, Link heard the soft sound of footsteps against the stone floor. He strained to turn his head in the direction from which the noise was coming, but it was behind him and he couldn't get a good look. As the sound grew louder and clearer, Link found himself unable to stay awake, and fell back into a deep sleep.

He had no idea how long he slept, but when he woke up he felt much more refreshed and rested. Once again he tried to get up, ignoring the pain in his arms as he pushed himself off the stone floor. With great difficulty he managed to stay standing, and cautiously took a few steps around the room. He appeared to be in a pit of sorts, with stone walls extending up to about the level of his chest before leveling off.

When he had fought the being, the floor beneath him had raised up in the air. Was the pit proof that it had actually happened, or was it merely coincidence? Either way, Link knew that he would have to wait even longer before he could resume his search for a way out of the labyrinth. He wondered how he was going to survive, as he had nothing to eat and the fight had used all of the strength he had. As he pondered these problems, he noticed a pack on the raised outside of the room. When he had found himself in the stone cell, he had nothing on him. A pack meant that somebody had found him, and Link had a good idea of who that person might be.

His suspicions were confirmed later. Link had been sitting in the middle of the room, resting to recover his strength but not laying down because he knew it would be hard for him to get up again. He was broken out of his half-sleep by the sound of footsteps, which steadily grew louder. As he stood up, Kitsu emerged from an entrance on the edge of the room. The warrior saw Link standing and approached him, although Link was not prepared for his greeting. Without saying a word at first, Kitsu hit Link directly across the face.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" the boy yelled. "I wake up to find you missing, spend days searching for you, and come here to find you half dead. What were you doing?"

"I was only doing what we agreed on," Link protested. "It wasn't my fault that I got captured."

"No, but it was your fault for leaving without telling me. Why didn't you just wait a little?"

"I thought you might have changed your mind," Link said quietly. "You were so opposed to the idea, I thought—"

"I was opposed to it," Kitsu interrupted, "because I was worried that something like this would happen. You're lucky I found you, or you'd probably be dead by now?"

"Where is this, anyway?" Link asked. "How did you find it?"

"The villagers saw you getting captured by a group of Nejirons," Kitsu explained. "This is where they take their prisoners, although nobody was willing to do anymore than just tell me how to get here. I guess they've never had anybody return after being taken here. From there, it was just luck that I ran into you."

"Thank you," Link told the other. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Link, I… I'm sorry, for the way I've been acting recently," Kitsu said. Link was surprised; he hadn't thought that Kitsu was the type of person to apologize out of nowhere. "I've not really been treating you the way you deserve, with you agreeing to bring me with you and all."

"You've more than made up for it," Link assured him.

"You want to know more about me, don't you?" Kitsu asked. Once again, Link was startled by the young warrior's directness.

"I do," Link replied, "but only when you feel that you want to tell me. Until then, I'd just be happy if you would keep traveling with me."

"Well, we'd better get started," Kitsu said. "There's nothing we really need to do here, and I'm sure the villagers of Dai Tennimo are eager to see how we've returned from the dead."


	25. Chapter 24: Returned From the Dead

Chapter 24: Returned from the Dead

It wasn't until two days later that Link was able to move on his own. Despite his best efforts, he had not been able to move in the labyrinth and had only gotten out because Kitsu had half-carried him. Once the two were in the mountains outside the dungeon, they had continued on at their painfully slow pace until a patrol of soldiers from Dai Tennimo came across them and brought them the rest of the way out of the mountains and to their village.

Now, Link celebrated his regained ability to move by walking through the streets of town to the outer walls. He still felt stiffness in his limbs, although he suspected that it was the result of lying around for several days and not lingering effects from the battles he had been in. He hoped that the feeling would be gone as he became more and more mobile.

From the top of the town's walls, Link looked out at the plains around him. The soldiers had searched the area where Link had been captured for his missing equipment, but so far nothing had been found. This worried Link, as his collection of equipment had included not only powerful weaponry that could be dangerous if used by the wrong people, but also had several one-of-a-kind artifacts that could never be truly replaced. Looking back on it, he could now see how truly foolish his plan had been. He turned to go and noticed Kitsu's familiar figure some distance down the wall.

"I was wondering where you were always disappearing to," Link remarked as he approached the other young warrior.

"I like to come up here in the evenings," Kitsu responded, "But today I'm here because you are."

"What?" Link asked.

"You got yourself hurt fairly badly, so I'm not letting you out of my sight for a long time."

"I said I was sorry about that," Link protested.

"I know," Kitsu said coldly, "but that doesn't guarantee that you won't do it again. Also, you're wounded and unarmed, so it would be a very bad idea for you to wander around by yourself."

"I wouldn't be able to manage without you," Link admitted, sitting on the edge of the wall next to Kitsu.

"I can tell that!" the warrior snapped, his silence afterwards betraying that he probably hadn't meant to reply with such force. "Still," he said quietly after a minute of quiet stillness, "You did at least manage to keep yourself alive, and that's something that these villagers haven't seen in a long time. To them, you're like a god come to visit."

"Just what I need," Link muttered sarcastically. "More people who think that I'm the solution to all of their problems."

"You don't have to do it alone this time," Kitsu assured him. "I'll be right beside you, every step of the way."

"I know," Link acknowledged. Getting up, he turned to go. "Well, we might as well get started. What trouble is this village in?"

"Not this time, partner," Kitsu interjected, grabbing Link's arm and pulling him back. "There is no way you'll be doing anything until you've recovered. For now, I'll do a little bit of scouting around, and you are going straight back to the room these people have provided for your recovery. If anything major turns up, you'll be the first to know."

"I'll be fine," Link maintained, more out of habit than out of any actual belief in the fact. He knew that he would have a difficult time holding his own in a fight with the condition he was in right now, even if he had all of his equipment. Although it went against the way he had always done things, he knew that he would have to take a few days off from everything while he recovered. Then again, he had never before had a partner to help cover for him and give him such a luxury.

Together, the two returned to the room that they were staying at. Although it was a fairly small town and really out of the way of everything, Dai Tennimo nevertheless had an inn that the two warriors could stay at until Link was more able to move about. Link obeyed Kitsu's wishes, staying in the room while the other drifted around town getting an idea of what needed to be done. Although nobody had directly said anything to the two, it was easy to see that everybody in the village was in a constant state of heightened alertness, as though they expected the village to come under siege at any minute. It wasn't hard for Link to connect the villager's fears with the strange goron-like creatures that had abducted him.

As he lay in bed waiting for Kitsu to return, Link remembered something from earlier. Back before they had arrived in the town, right after Link had battled the strange demon-creature, Kitsu had referred to Link's captors as Nejirons. The term seemed familiar, but not as something Link clearly remembered. It was more as though he had heard it in passing once, and for some reason he had stored the knowledge deep within his memory in the event that he might ever need it again. No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't remember any more about them, or where he had first heard the term.

Eventually, he gave up on it, figuring that it couldn't have been any important information if he couldn't remember anything other than the name. Kitsu would have plenty of information when he returned, and the only thing that Link was doing was tiring himself out and hampering his ability to recover and be useful again. Link lay back on his bed, and after what seemed like hours he finally drifted off to sleep. He wished that it could have been a peaceful sleep, but deep within himself he found that he was still holding on tightly to the fear that whatever it was that he couldn't remember was of utmost importance, and that whether or not he was able to recall it might make the difference between life and death.


	26. Chapter 25: Sword of Burning

Chapter 25: Sword of Burning

Morning sunlight illuminated the curtains covering the window when Link awakened. He was fairly sure that it had only been afternoon when he had fallen asleep, but there was no doubt that he had slept straight through past the sunrise. Link wondered if he would ever be able to return to his normal sleeping habits after so many days of staying in the inn.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Link looked over to the other bed. Either Kitsu had not returned the previous night, or he had already left earlier in the morning. Neither one would have surprised Link at that point, but he hoped that his partner had gotten at least some sleep during the night.

He felt much better than he had earlier. He wasn't in top condition yet, but Link was determined to get at least something done other than resting in the inn room for another day. He tried to get up, but was prevented from doing so by something on his chest. He strained to see what it was, freezing in place when he finally saw what it was. Kitsu was kneeling beside Link's bed, fast asleep with his torso resting on the bed. The young warrior's head and shoulders were resting on Link's chest, so Link moved as gently as he could. When the young Hylian finally managed to free himself, he turned to look at his sleeping partner, who must have tried staying up to make sure Link was resting all right.

Once again moving as softly as he could, he approached Kitsu and gently lifted him off the ground. Despite the warrior's surprising lightness, Link didn't think he was rested well enough to carry Kitsu to the other bed, so he just laid the sleeping warrior out on the closer bed. Taking one last look at his resting companion, Link quietly walked to the door and stepped out into the hall. From there, Link went out into the town and back up to the top of the wall. He would have liked to ask around about what was going on, but he didn't know what Kitsu had already found out, and decided that it would be better just to wait and see what the other warrior had turned up with.

For a while, Link just sat on the edge of the wall, his feet dangling over the edge and his gaze directed out at the plains before him. He guessed by the position of the sun that it was about halfway between sunrise and midday, and wondered just how late Kitsu had been out the night before. He often worried that the silent young warrior was pushing himself to hard and too proud to admit it, and then realized that Kitsu probably worried about Link in a similar fashion.

"So you're the little shrimp who somehow managed to come out of those mountains alive," a rough voice said from behind him. Link turned around to see an immensely strong man standing behind him. The man wore dull grey armor, and a gigantic battle axe was strapped to his back. Link said nothing at first, unsure as to what the man's intentions were.

"No need to be shy, boy," the man assured him, noticing his hesitation. "I'm the captain of the guard here in Dai Tennimo, and I hear that you need some equipment. Come with me." He turned and began walking away, and Link ran to catch up once he realized that the captain wasn't going to wait for him. Together they came down from the wall and entered a small building across the street. Inside were weapons of all kinds. Dozens of spears rested in brackets on the walls, while the corners were crammed full of barrels, each one filled to the brim with bundles of arrows.

"Dai Tennimo's finest weaponry," the man announced. "And also some of its not so fine weaponry." He walked through the room to the opposite side, where he brushed some of the dirt off of the floor to reveal a trapdoor. He opened it and began to descend the ladder within, motioning for Link to follow. At the base of the ladder, a tunnel led off into the darkness.

"Come along, boy!" the captain exclaimed as he grabbed a torch and walked down the tunnel.

"Yes, sir," Link responded, following along.

"Sir!" the man shouted with a laugh. "I don't let my men call me sir, why should you be any different? Call me Crazy Darren, that's what everybody else does."

At first Link hesitated at calling the captain 'Crazy Darren,' but as they went through tunnel after tunnel he began to wonder if the man really was crazy. He behaved erratically, at times seeming as if he contradicted himself. Link's fears that Darren was getting them lost in the maze of tunnels evaporated when they saw torchlight ahead. At first all Link saw was a ladder leading up, but Darren turned towards a wall that Link had thought was solid and pushed some heavy, dust colored curtains aside. Beyond was another short passageway that quickly ended in a small chamber.

There was only one thing in the chamber, a wooden chest with a lock. Darren placed his torch in a wall bracket, then fumbled around in his pocket before pulling out a tarnished silver key, which he tossed it to Link

"Go ahead, open it." Link did as instructed, placing the key in the lock and turning it. The chest opened as soon as the key was turned, revealing the content of the chest. After a moment's hesitation, Link reached in and retrieved it. It was a large sword, nearly five feet in length and thicker than Link's hand, yet Link lifted it easily. He looked questioningly at Crazy Darren, who explained after a second's pause.

"That's the Sword of Burning, boy," he told Link. "The finest weapon in Dai Tennimo, only to be given to the worthiest of fighters."

"I can't be the strongest fighter," Link protested, "I'm just a kid."

"Kid or not, nobody before you has ever returned from those mountains alive," Darren said. "Meaning that that sword is yours by divine right."


	27. Chapter 26: Hope and Regret

Chapter 26: Hope and Regret

Kitsu woke up sometime after midday. For the briefest of moments he was confused as to why he was in Link's bed, but confusion quickly evaporated into worry. Link was missing, with no indication of where he was or how long he had been gone. His mind suddenly clear and focused, he got up and rushed out the door.

As he exited the building, Kitsu began to have second thoughts. What could he do by just running around looking for Link? The town guards weren't likely to let the boy out of their sight for more than a few minutes, and Kitsu hoped that the young warrior would have gotten the idea not to go out on his own. Despite his fears, Kitsu forced himself to return to his room and wait. If Link didn't return by sunset, then he would let himself worry, but until then Kitsu would try to trust his partner's judgment.

As he waited, Kitsu considered the information he had managed to get out of the townspeople the night before. Thanks to them, he now had a much better idea of what was going on, and had a few vague plans for what the two could do. A few things might cause some trouble later on, but there was not much to be done about those things yet.

After Kitsu had mentally sorted through his information, he inevitably returned to worrying about his companion. Instead of where he might have gone off to, Kitsu found his thoughts turning to Link's strange behavior over the past few days. Kitsu could attribute most of it to Link's obvious discomfort with not knowing much about his partner, but that didn't grant any relief. Link had said that he would wait until Kitsu was ready to share more of his past, and although Kitsu trusted the boy's honor, he still had the deep fear that Link's curiosity would get the better of him, and he would be led to discover things that Kitsu wasn't prepared to share with him yet.

Even worse, his line of thinking led Kitsu to wonder why he wasn't capable of trusting his companion enough to open up to him. Kitsu had met few people with whom he placed as high a level of trust as he did with Link, and Link was probably the one out of all of them who could relate to and understand Kitsu the best.

As the sun neared the western horizon, Kitsu did his best to concentrate on the immediate problem, and worry about the other things later. Unfortunately, he was no longer so sure which problem was more important.

The sun was just setting as Link emerged with Crazy Darren from the underground armory. The captain had been unusually silent during the return trip, refusing to answer any of Link's questions, most of which were about the Sword of Burning but occasionally venturing into other topics. His suspicion that something was troubling the village was as good as confirmed, but he still knew nothing about it. He hoped that Kitsu had been more successful the previous day with gathering information.

From what little information he had gleaned from the large soldier, the sword was rumored to hold unbelievable power, and so was kept locked up at all times to prevent anybody from using the abilities granted by it for their own desires. Darrel would say nothing about what those abilities might be, either because he felt that Link had to discover them on his own, or because he honestly didn't know. Either way, It left Link feeling slightly worried, as he couldn't know what anything he tried would do.

As the sun sank lower, Link headed toward the inn. People stared openly at him as he passed, but Link ignored them. It was only when he had almost reached his destination that he realized that they had probably never seen the sword before. The sword was awkward for the warrior to carry, as it was taller than him. For now he carried it with both hands, one on the hilt and the other carefully gripping the blade through the safety of a leather gauntlet. He hoped that later they might be able to come up with a way to carry it more easily. He knew better than to hope that he could carry it around without attracting attention.

Kitsu paced around the room anxiously as the light outside quickly faded. Link hadn't returned yet, making him very nervous. When he could stand it no longer, Kitsu flung open the door to the room and rushed out as fast as he could. He opened the door leading outside with similar quickness, but as he dashed through he collided with a dark shape and fell backwards to the ground. Putting a hand to his head where he had hit it, Kitsu looked up to see the person he had run into.

Naturally, it was Link. The green-clad boy had been likewise knocked into the dirt road, and was slower than Kitsu in getting up. Only then did Kitsu realize that when Link fell, he had dropped a large sword that he had been carrying. The only light was coming from inside the inn, so it was a few seconds before Kitsu realized what it was, but when he did all he could do was stare in disbelief.


	28. Chapter 27: Legends and Secrets

Chapter 27: Legends and Secrets

"They gave _you_ the Sword of Burning?"

"Yeah, I believe that was one of the things I mentioned." Link had never thought that something as simple as a sword would get such a reaction from Kitsu, who rarely reacted visibly to anything. "Does it mean anything?" he asked.

"Are you kidding?" the other boy said, calming down slightly. "The Sword of Burning is one of the most widely known legends in Kiasha. How could you not have heard…" His voice trailed off and his excitement faded. Of course Link, who had come from a foreign land only weeks earlier, would not know the legends of Kiasha.

"No," Link said flatly, breaking the silence, "I haven't heard of it."

"Sorry," Kitsu apologized, "I didn't mean to—"

"I know," Link interrupted. "Just fill me in. What's the big deal with the sword."

"The Sword of Burning is a relic from hundreds of years ago, when the different villages of Kiasha weren't as peaceful as they are today," the warrior explained. "It belonged to Tondin, who lived in Dai Tennimo. According to the legend, Tondin used it to drive out soldiers who were occupying the village. After his death, it was hidden away beneath the village, and is only to be taken out in times when the village is in grave danger."

"Why is it called the sword of burning? The captain of the guards wouldn't tell me anything about it."

"Tondin knew magic," Kitsu explained. "When he drove the soldiers out, his sword was engulfed in flames. There are some versions of the legend that say the true user of the sword will be able to make the sword work that way again, but not all of the stories agree on that part."

"So this sword may or may not burst into flame when I draw it?" Link asked suspiciously.

"Once again, I can't say for sure. All I can say is that the villagers are in big trouble, and they know it."

"Did you find out more about that?"

"Of course," Kitsu replied, returning to his usual, off-hand manner of speaking. "Basically, this village is regularly attacked by a nearby tribe of Nejirons, who have been attacking with greater strength recently. I haven't found out too much, but I _did_ learn that the raiding parties always come out of the mountains."

"So I suppose we'll be heading that way sometime soon," Link commented.

"As soon as you're rested," Kitsu answered. "_Fully_ rested. We don't know what we'll find up there."

Later that night, after Link's breathing became regular and relaxed, Kitsu quietly slipped out of the room. Without a sound, he walked swiftly through the shadows between the buildings of Dai Tennimo. The moon had risen well into the sky behind a veil of clouds, bathing everything in a light just bright enough to make out basic shapes. There at the gate of the town, right where he had said, was the contact Kitsu had arranged.

"Are you ready," Kitsu asked, barely above a whisper.

"Well enough," the armored figure replied, no louder than necessary. "We'll have to move carefully, but if everything goes as planned we should be back in no time. A day at the most, and most of that traveling."

"Whatever you say, but I'll feel much better once this whole thing is over. The longer we're out, the more likely _he_ is to act on his own."

High above the two, in the watchtower above the gate, two men watched as the shapes below faded into the darkness.

"Are you sure this is the right course of action?" one said to the other. "After all, this is a lot to place in the hands of people we've just met."

"You've heard the rumors, Darren." the other replied. "these two may be our last hope."

"But what if they're just that—rumors. How can we know for sure what they are capable of?"

"You know the situation as well as I do. If the rumors prove to be false, well, we won't be any worse off for it."


	29. Chapter 28: Divergence of Paths

Chapter 28: Divergence of Paths

"Dear Link,

I am sorry that I had to leave so suddenly, and regret even more that I could not bring you with. Last night, after you had fallen asleep, I received information from one of my contacts in this village that events in this region of Kiasha are beginning to catch up with us. Just as I must handle matters in another place, you must remain here and work to discover the cause of these troubles.

The information I have uncovered has suggested that even though various seemingly unrelated attacks and disasters have been occurring throughout this mountain range, they are all connected somehow, and Dai Tennimo is the key.

Once again, I regret not telling this to you in person, but things have progressed far too much for us to dwell on things that are behind us. I look forward to the day when we will meet again.

The way is blocked, but the demon has the key. Beware of fear."

Link read the letter from Kitsu a second time, then set it down. He had awoken that morning feeling completely refreshed, ready to start working together on eradicating the threat to the village. Instead, he had found the scroll lying on the other bed, tied with a plain grey strip of cloth and written unmistakably in the other young warrior's handwriting.

His first instinct was, naturally, to get Epona and ride as hard as he could until he caught up with his partner. He quickly forgot that line of thinking. By now Kitsu would be far away in any direction, and wouldn't be too happy about Link dropping everything to follow. Instead he focused on the problem at hand.

Obviously, Kitsu hadn't found any information other than what he was acting on. The only thing remotely helpful in the letter was the last line of text, which seemed to be some sort of riddle or vague hint. Since the only thing Kitsu had told him was useless at the moment, Link would have to handle things his own way.

That afternoon, Link stood outside the village walls, equipped with a new bow, bombs, and arrows. All were things that the town armory was kept well stocked with, although Link noticed that the bow was significantly weaker than the one which he was accustomed to. Link also carried a short sword that he had borrowed from Crazy Darren. The captain had appeared confused as to why Link would want a second sword in addition to the sword of burning, but had wordlessly handed over the blade. Unlike the bow, the sword was top-quality, though still not as strong as Link's gilded sword.

Equipped as well as he could manage in such short time, Link stepped forward towards the nearby cliffs. He did not take Epona with him, as he expected to have to leave her at the base anyway. Above him the rocks loomed higher and higher, until they blocked out the afternoon sun.

Somewhere in those rocky walls was the source of the regions problems, and Link intended to find it. Not with the aid of Kitsu or a band of soldiers, but alone, the way he was used to doing things. Even so, as he began the long climb up a narrow shaft in the rock, he wondered why he felt like someone was missing.


	30. Chapter 29: The Sea Between Worlds

Chapter 29: The Sea Between Worlds

The mountains that towered over the town of Dai Tennimo were unlike anything else Link had ever seen. When he had first begun the climb to the tops, they had formed a wall of sorts, with each peak fused to the adjacent ones. The top was more or less a flat surface, with peaks rising up from the ground randomly, but the majority of the land was clear and travelable. A day of walking, however, once again brought Link to a strange, breathtaking location.

Abruptly, the ground fell away before him. As far as Link could see, spires of rock filled the land in front of him. Only a few of them were tall enough that they extended above the cliff where Link stood, but they grew more numerous as he looked deeper. Nowhere Link looked appeared to be inhabited by anything, or as if it could be traveled without climbing down the cliff and navigating the forest of jagged rocks and uneven terrain. It was as if this cliff was truly the edge of the world.

Disappointed, Link turned to the south and began to walk parallel to the edge of the cliff, staying a good distance away and watching the land in front of him carefully. If there was anything he could find and reach, it would be up on the plateau. By the time the sun sank below the tallest rock columns, he had still found nothing. It was quickly getting dark, and would be dangerous for him to continue alone on his journey. Wondering how he was to be expected to find anything in the vast mountain range, Link went to sleep.

The next morning, he awoke and resumed his search. He would give this direction a few more days, he decided, and then he would turn around and search the area north of the town. The sun rose higher in the sky as he walked, casting shadows off of the peaks that grew shorter and shorter as the day went by. The sun set again without significant discovery, once again leaving Link with feelings of helplessness. This cycle continued for three more days.

On the sixth day of Link's search, as he prepared to turn around and head back north, keeping closer to the eastern cliffs this time, something strange caught his eye. Shortly in front of him, the western cliffs turned sharply inward, forming a narrow inlet where the sea of spires extended past the imaginary line that the other cliffs more or less ran along. He didn't notice it at first because a rock arch continued where the cliffs dropped back, making it hard to see the hole unless one was fairly close to it.

The inlet was not very wide or long, but proved to be an interesting find nonetheless. The spires inside were generally shorter and sharper looking than the ones past the cliffs, and taller columns seemed to form lines and circles in a sort of pattern. At the point of the cliffs farthest from the rock bridge, halfway between the tops of the spires and the tops of the surrounding cliffs, was a temple. It was ancient and falling apart, but there was no denying that it was not a natural rock feature.

An ancient temple was just the sort of thing Link usually looked for. Unfortunately, this one did not appear to be easily accessible. No paths led down the rock walls to the entrance, and the cliffs above caved inward to make climbing or jumping impossible. About to begin a search of the surrounding area to find another entrance, Link remembered one of his new tools.

The weapon-smiths at Dai Tennimo had been unable to replace Link's lost hookshot: although they knew of the tool, they did not know how it worked, as the one smith who did know its secrets was away at the time. Instead, they had given him a grappling hook.

Link's grappling hook was a simple tool, consisting of only a rope attached to a series of barbed hooks. Normally, he would have overlooked it as vastly inferior to the hookshot. The grappling hook, however, could function as a rope for climbing down the wall, which Link would never be able to do with his hookshot. He made a mental note to himself that he should always carry one with him, even after finding or replacing his regular equipment.

Link carefully made his way to the cliff above the temple, moving slowly to avoid unstable floors that might drop him into the temple or, worse yet, a trap. The short journey was uneventful, and Link lowered himself to the platform.


	31. Chapter 30: The Ruined Hall

Chapter 30: The Ruined Hall

The inside of the temple was every bit as impressive as the outside. Massive columns stretched upwards into darkness, supporting an unseen roof far above. Between the center of the room and the columns, a narrow pit blocked the way, making the only possible direction of movement forward, deeper into the temple.

Everywhere Link went; there was no hint of motion. No monsters attacked him, no traps were activated, there was no sign that any life had been present for thousands of years. Worst of all, Link could not sense any danger. If he had, he would have been perfectly confident that he could handle almost anything that happened. Without sensing danger, it meant that anything that attacked or threatened him would most likely do so without warning, and might not give him the chance to respond. Without a moment of hesitation, Link drew the Sword of Burning. Its large size and mysterious lightness still felt unnatural to him, and he hoped that he would either get used to it as time went on or find his old equipment.

He reached the end of the room, where a single brazier stood in front of a large stone door. There was an inscription on the door, but it was written in an ancient language that Link didn't recognize. No amount of strength Link put on the door could make it open, so he turned his attention to the brazier. It was not elegant, appearing to be carved out of a single piece of rock. The job had been crudely done, as though by some unskilled artesian. At the top, a basin held pitch, but no logs.

For some bizarre reason, ancient temples always had some fascination with lighting torches. Link decided that this one must be no exception, and replaced the Sword, pulling out his bow. Despite it's inferiority to his normal one, he was still able to say the incantation that set his arrow aflame. Standing back and taking careful aim, he fired it directly at the top of the brazier. The pitch did not catch fire, to Link's disappointment. He tried again, with the same result. The third time, he muttered the incantation, but did not nock the arrow. Instead, he took it and tried to use it as a torch to start the fire. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get the fire to start. Frustrated, he put the bow away and began a different incantation. A globe of fire manifested around him, pushing outwards into the darkness. When the flames cleared, the torch still stood exactly as it had been before.

In a fit of anger, Link took up the Sword of Burning and swung it at the stone base of the brazier. Where his blade hit, sparks danced across the surface of the stone, spreading farther until the entire brazier was covered in dazzlingly bright pulses of light and flame. Starting at the base, the sparks began to disappear, and where they had been the stone was no longer rough but smooth and ornately carved. In a matter of seconds the sparks had receded completely, leaving only the brazier with bright white flames dancing atop it. In the new light, the runes on the door shifted until Link could read them.

"Ye who possesses the Sword of Burning:

Should thou hold fear in thine heart, turn back.

Before the stand the trials for the chosen warrior,

Retreat is not an option once the ordeal has begun.

Choose now"

With only slight hesitation, Link stepped forward and placed his hand on the center of the door. With a great roar, flames erupted from the pits at the sides of the hall, beginning at the entrance and making their way towards where Link stood. When he looked back at the door, the text had changed.

"You have chosen the path of the warrior.

Face now the ordeal before you,

And find if the path of the warrior chooses you.

Let your soul guide you on your quest."

As soon as he had finished reading the words, the stone door split down the middle as the two halves slid to the side. An unseen force pushed Link from behind, forcing him to stumble through the doorway. He fell to the ground on the other side as the great stone door slammed closed behind him. The chamber he was in was small and circular, with a ring of pitch burning up on a ledge out of Link's reach on the wall. In the center, a stone tabled held another inscription.

"You have passed the first test, the ordeal of courage.

From now on, your trials can not be passed by choice alone,

But through strength of body."

Beyond the tablet was another opening, and this time Link stepped through without hesitation.


	32. Chapter 31: The Hero's Ordeal

Chapter 31: The Hero's Ordeal

The room beyond the second opening was shrouded in fog. A dim light filled the room, making dull shapes that moved slowly around the edges of Link's vision. As soon as the young hero stepped through the doorway, the stone door slid shut and the air immediately around him began to clear. He only got a few feet before finding the soldier.

The soldier was lying on the ground, clearly dead. His armor was stained red by the blood that had been flowing out of the wound on his side, between the breastplate and back plate of the armor. The blood no longer flowed; this soldier had been dead for hours already.

What disturbed Link most was that the crest and armor of the dead soldier matched exactly with that of the Hylian Royal Guard. Since leaving Hyrule, he had seen many similarities between the lands he had traveled and his home, but something inside him told Link that this time, the soldier was definitely a hylian.

He walked past the soldier, who was quickly swallowed up by the fog. His sword drawn and ready, Link walked slowly through the room, wary for an kind of a challenge. Within a few feet, he found more guards. There were two of them, lying a short distance apart on the stone floor of the chamber. Link ignored them and continued onward, towards the ever-growing sounds of battle.

Battle came sooner than expected. Ahead of him, he could dimly make out a cluster of people, holding themselves off against shadows that attacked them from all sides. Raising the Sword of Burning, Link charged into the mass of shadows, swinging with all his strength. The magic of the sword flared to life, sending great tongues of fire running up the great blade. The shadows dissolved instantly on contact with the flames, but there were always more, pressing in from all sides. Link quickly found himself surrounded on all sides, shadows pressing up against him until he was forced away from the dim figures in the center of all the shadows.

Desperately, Link fought his was back to the people. With two wide swings of his sword the area around him cleared, giving him the freedom of movement. He wasted no time in moving towards the figures, swinging his sword to keep the shadows at bay. At last he managed to join up with them. They made no sound as Link worked to keep the shadows at bay. For a minute, the two sides were at a stalemate, with the shadows neither advancing nor retreating in significant distances. Then, a bolt of shadow lanced out of the darkness. It flew right past Link and struck one of the figures squarely in the chest, dropping it to the ground. Unaware that he was about to make a big mistake, Link looked down at the fallen figure.

For the first part of the battle, the figures had been faceless, mere shadows that Link must protect. With the first figure down, the fog began to clear revealing a face familiar to Link. Blood flowed out from a wound beneath a simple tunic, pooling on the ground and dyeing the tips of the figure's green hair red.

Without warning, a barrage of the shadow bolts flew into the cluster of shapes. With each one that hit, a new face was revealed. Link watched helplessly as Zelda, Darunia, and Ruto fell to the ground. Now only one figure remained standing. The fog between Link and the survivor cleared, and a shadow bolt caught the figure with Kitsu's face directly over the heart. There was no chance for intervention, no chance at prevention. The body seemed to take forever as it fell to the floor.

Around him, the shadows were disappearing. The fog lightened slightly, improving the visibility. All traces of the horrible slaughter were gone, except for one. The bodies still remained.

_It was only a vision,_ Link thought. _None of those people were actually here, and they are all still alive._ Still, the bodies weren't fading away. Replacing the sword over his shoulder, Link stepped forward and gently put his hand against the side of the face of the closest figure, the one that looked like Saria. Link expected that his hand would pass right through the surface of an illusion. Instead, he felt flesh, still warm with the heat of recent life but rapidly fading.

_It's only a vision,_ Link thought over and over again. But the seeds of doubt were in his mind. What if the ordeal had called the people across whole lands just so Link could watch them die? Such an idea was laughable, but the bodies seemed too real to be an illusion.

_It's only a vision._ Could Link go on at this point? He had failed to protect anybody, meaning he had failed the test. Would he be permitted to leave the temple, or would he remain sealed in the chamber until he died of starvation? He looked back. Through the fog, the door to the previous chamber stood open, inviting him to turn back. Link took three steps toward it before stopping. Instead of returning, he walked purposefully to the door on the other side of the room, the one leading deeper into the temple. This door stood closed, a silent testament to Link's failure. The only way for him to go was to turn back. Instead, he stepped forward and placed his hand in the center of the door. The great stone door slid aside, allowing Link to pass through.

Inside was a round chamber, similar to the second room. There was no stone tablet in the center of the room, so Link walked straight across to the other door.

_You have passed the ordeal._ The words echoed in Link's mind as he reached the center of the room.

"Why?" he called out. "Didn't I fail?"

_You did not turn back when you thought you had lost. That is how you won._ The voice showed no irritation at having to explain anything. _Go through the door ahead of you to receive your reward._ The door leading forward slid open, and Link continued into the temple. The next room was smaller than any of the others, like an extremely short passageway. A few feet past the door stood an altar. Link stepped up to the altar and read the inscription on top of it.

"The way is gone, the path removed.

Let Mercury guide you

O'er walls of stone"

Like most inscriptions, Link could make no sense out of this one. He read it out loud, trying to make sense of it. After the words had been said, the stone top of the altar slid back to reveal a pair of boots inside. Recognizing these as the reward for completing the ordeal, Link took them out and examined them. They were made of soft leather and had wings attached to the sides of the heel. Link could only guess at their function, but put the boot on in hopes that it might become apparent.

With the treasure obtained, Link turned back and walked toward the entrance of the temple. When he passed the spot where the battle had been, the bodies had dissolved along with everything else.


	33. Chapter 32: The Power of Mercury

Chapter 32: The Power of Mercury

Link stood outside the temple. He had spent the night on the small ledge just outside, not wanting to begin the climb back to the top of the cliffs with darkness approaching. Now it was the next morning, and a great difficulty lay before him. It had been a simple matter to lower himself into the canyon, but now he was faced with climbing the rope back out. Praying that the grappling hook hadn't been loosened or dislodged in any way, Link reached for the rope and pulled himself up. Hand over hand, he brought himself closer to the top with each pull.

At the same time, his muscles were getting sore. He knew it was only a matter of time before he found himself unable to hold on any more, and that his life depended on whether or not his arms wore out before or after he had reached the top. He was halfway there now, too late to turn back.

Finally, the end was in reach. Gathering all of his strength, he reached upwards one last time and pulled himself up onto the flat ground. Breathing heavily, he lay on the rock, exhausted from the climb. His arms felt as if they were on fire, and Link wondered just how much longer he could have managed to stay on that rope.

Gathering his equipment, he resumed his search. He had been about to turn back and head north before finding the temple, but now he felt that there might be something else in the area. He set of in the same direction he had been heading, hoping that his search would yield results soon. His wish was granted in the late afternoon as he stumbled across a Nejiron raiding party.

Link had been walking slowly when he heard the telltale rumbling in the ground. He quickly hid himself in a cluster of spires and watched as the strange creatures rolled by. As they passed, Link realized that they must be going somewhere, and that if he followed them they might lead him straight to their source. Unfortunately, he had no chance of catching up with them on foot. Despite this, he exited from the spires and began to run.

As he ran, he noticed that he had no trouble catching up with and following the half-dozen Nejirons who had rolled past him. As he looked around, he saw the spires rushing past much faster than they should have and realized what was going on. The boots he had found in the temple were causing him to run faster than he ever had before. In a matter of minutes the Nejirons were just in front of him, and Link had to slow down to avoid being noticed.

After a good distance, the Nejirons turned east towards the rest of Kiasha. Link followed until they approached a chasm with a series of pillars in it. The Nejirons rolled straight to the edge, launching into the air just before they would fall in. Each one came down on a different pillar and immediately launched into the air again, changing course slightly to land on another pillar. Their erratic, unpredictable manner of crossing the paths of the others to land on pillars across the chasm made link dizzy.

Link had no time to slow down before he was also at the chasm. He knew that he was incapable of making the jumps that his quarries were making, even with his enhanced speed. Nonetheless, he jumped at the wall, hoping to find a handhold on the rough surface.

His hopes were filled beyond what he had ever thought possible. He hit the wall and continued running, to his left was the sky, and far to the right, the floor of the canyon. Link had no time to think about this sudden shift of gravity, he was focused on tracking the fleeing Nejirons.

"The way is gone, the path removed.

Let Mercury guide you

O'er walls of stone"

The word of the inscription on the altar echoed in his mind. There was no doubt about it—this was the true power granted by the boots. He felt the power of the boots begin to fade and instinctively jumped to a nearby column. His feet remained on the column for only a second before jumping off again, landing on another column. When the columns became to far apart for him to jump, he returned to the walls, continuing on just behind his unknowing guides.

After several twists and turns, the chasm floor rose high enough to provide flat ground to stand on. Link followed along, running up onto the walls as he encountered turns too sharp to remain on the ground for. At last, the tops of the cliffs drew closer together and the Nejirons disappeared through a tunnel in the end of the canyon. They had arrived at last.


	34. Chapter 33: The Abandoned Mine

Chapter 33: The Abandoned Mines

Link cautiously made his way down the tunnel. He had waited outside the entrance so that the Nejirons would be well into the tunnel before he entered. Although he could probably defeat a few in combat, he was unsure as to how strong they were, and decided that the best course of action would be to avoid all confrontations.

The tunnels were stone, with wooden supports to prevent the roof from caving in. At first, Link encountered no paths other than the one he took, which proceeded deeper into the cliff in a fairly straight line. There was also a slight slope to the passageway, so that Link was constantly descending deeper into the earth with every step he took. He had briefly considered using his boots to cross the distance in much less time, but decided that being able to respond quickly to anything that happened was more important at the moment than traveling quickly.

After what seemed like hours of walking but was probably only a few minutes, one wall of the tunnel fell away, and Link found himself in the first chamber of the mines. The path he was on continued along the edge of the chamber, with the left wall extending up to the distant ceiling while the right side of the path ended in a steep cliff that fell to the chamber floor, one hundred feet below. The lighting in the chamber was much dimmer, as the torches, while more numerous and frequent than in the tunnels, were still incapable of lighting the entire room. In the dull light, Link saw no activity that indicated the presence of anything else.

The path continued down to the chamber floor, spiraling around the edge of the chamber. The incline was more noticeable here than in the tunnels, so in a matter of minutes Link was standing on the bottom of the chamber in front of a large stone door. He pushed gently against the stone, and it gave way to reveal the next room.

The next room also appeared empty at first glance. It was much smaller than the first in terms of height, but it was only slightly less distance from one wall to the next. The next door was in plain sight, straight across the room.

Link managed to get halfway to the door before iron bars slid down over it. Without looking, he knew that the path back through the previous chamber was being similarly blocked. Being trapped in this manner no longer surprised him, as it had the first few times it had happened. He knew that he just had to wait for his opponent to manifest itself.

He did not have to wait long. An earthquake shook the chamber, causing a bunch of rocks to fall around Link. The rocks did not break when they hit the ground, as Link thought they might. Instead, they lay there for a second, then rose slowly into the air, forming a circle around the warrior. In unison, they began to move to the right, circling Link but never approaching or retreating. Link tried to track their movements, but found it hard since he could never keep all of them in view at the same time. He estimated that there were seven large rocks that had fallen from the ceiling.

As he watched the rocks, something slammed into his back. He flew through the air and slammed into one of the floating rocks before falling to the floor. His vision blurred, clearing just in time to reveal the boulder floating directly over him. Without stopping to think he rolled to the side, just making it as the boulder slammed into the ground where his head had been a second earlier. Before the rock could rise up again, Link was on his feet and swinging his sword. The heavy blade connected solidly with the rock, but as Link pulled the weapon away for another strike the boulder was unmarked.

Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw another rock rushing toward him. He sidestepped the attack and swung his sword into the back of the threat. The results were the same as before, with no visible damage to the rocks despite a solid hit. Frustrated, Link pulled out a bomb and hurled it at the circle of rocks. It caught one of the moving boulders and exploded, but left no visible damage as the smoke cleared. Link found himself out of ideas and out of time as the boulders tightened their circle around him until they formed a solid wall around him. Looking up through the circle of rocks, Link watched as the final rock positioned itself and began its unstoppable descent.


	35. Chapter 34: The Other Heroes

Chapter 34: The Other Heroes

His heart torn by conflicting emotions, Kitsu followed the road to his destination. He regretted what he had done to Link, and it had taken every bit of willpower he had to prevent himself from running back and explaining everything. Without betraying any hint of his plans, he had carried out a masterful deception. In Kitsu's thoughts, he knew all this added up to only one thing: he had manipulated Link, his closest friend.

"You okay, kid?" Tunasri asked. The knight had met up with him just outside the town, agreeing to serve as a guide. He had also asked the same question with extreme frequency in the day since they had left Dai Tennimo. Kitsu had not yet given him an answer.

"You haven't told me to mind my own business yet, so that means you're worrying about something," Tunasri continued. "And since there's not much you'll be visibly worried about, I'm guessing it has something to do with that other kid."

"I betrayed him."

"You saved him. You know as well as I do that this is most likely going to end up as a suicide mission."

"Together we might have stood a chance. Alone, he'll just end up stumbling into this on his own," Kitsu countered. "If he dies, it will be my fault."

"What makes you think he'll do that? Didn't you give him his own task?"

"I sent him into the mountains around the town," Kitsu explained. "It's unlikely that he'll find anything up there, but when it comes down to it, we don't know for sure whether or not we're going to the right place, either."

"I see…"

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Kitsu demanded.

"Sounds like you're worried that he'll find the source of the Nejirons before we do. You're afraid you gave him more work than you could expect someone who's just a kid to manage."

"Just a kid? Is that your way of implying that _I_ shouldn't be here, either?"

"Not a chance," Tunasri reassured. "I've heard enough about you to know that you might be the best warrior in Kiasha. If you've decided to come with us, it isn't my place to tell you no."

"Link is the best warrior from his country," Kitsu informed the knight. "He has every right to fight alongside us, rather than being sent to his death on a fool's quest."

While they talked, the sky became darker and darker. Out amongst the growing shadows, the glow of ghostly flames began to appear.

"Kitsu…"

"I see them," the warrior replied. All the worry was gone, his mind focused on the present challenge.

"Do we fight or run?"

"We move forward," Kitsu asserted. "We don't have time to stay and fight, but keep them back if they come at you."

"Knew you were going to say that," Tunasri replied. He reached into a saddlebag with and slipped a set of silver knuckles onto his fingers. "I'm going to open up a passage on the left side. Get through as soon as you can, I'll follow later."

"I can handle—"

"Just do it, okay! I don't have time to argue with you right now." Before Kitsu had time to say otherwise, Tunasri charged his mount towards the lights.

As he drew nearer, the lights grew brighter and more numerous. By the time he had reached the first group of lights, there were a dozen of them. They danced through the air like flames, nearly knocking Tunasri off of his dodongo. The clawshot in his left arm lanced out at the brightest of the lights, pulling it in. At the same time, he drew back his fist and punched at the captive spirit, shattering it to pieces with the silver knuckles he wore.

As the nearby spirits moved to attack the knight, Kitsu threw himself into the battle. He had abandoned Macha, leaving the horse to find her own path to safety. Kitsu's blades flashed in the light of his enemies as he fought his way to where the knight stood.

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" Tunasri roared.

"I made my own decision."

"You're going to get trapped here!" Despite their best efforts, the lights were appearing faster than they could manage. The chance to escape had been lost.

A bright flash of light lit the night sky. One by one, the spirits flared into brilliance and faded out. When they were all gone, a tall figure rode up on a black horse, leading Macha behind him. The last of the Protectors had arrived.


	36. Chapter 35: A Sound in the Darkness

Chapter 35: A Sound in the Darkness

The trio of warriors moved quickly out of their vulnerable position out on the plains. Morris had set up a camp of sorts in the shadow of the nearby cliffs, which they occupied for the night. As soon as they had taken care of their mounts, they gathered together to discuss their task.

"I've scouted out the area Kitsu suggested," Morris informed the other two. "There's a path that leads all the way into the mountains."

"Did you find anything up there?" Kitsu asked.

"Nothing."

"Is it the right spot?" Tunasri inquired.

"The information I received all pointed towards this region of the mountains," Kitsu replied. "We have no reason to believe that it was incorrect, so the most likely answer is that the entrance is hidden, or further back than Morris scouted out." He paused for a moment. "How far in did you go, anyway?"

"I only had time to search the area right around the trail when I saw you having trouble down here."

"How far off the path can you go?" Tunasri asked.

"Depends on where you are. Some places you can go quite some distance, others you can't leave the path at all."

"That wasn't very helpful."

"Quiet!" Kitsu told them. As they fell silent, he stepped slightly away from them, towards the mountains. "Did either of you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Tunasri asked. "You think there's something out there?"

"I think that it might be a good idea if I checked the area a little," Kitsu replied. "You two stay here, and make sure one of you is always on guard. If I haven't returned by noon tomorrow, you'd better come looking for me, but be careful." Without waiting for their objections or approval, he turned and vanished into the night.

Kitsu was relieved once he was out of earshot of the two others. The trio had only been together for less than a day, and Kitsu could already tell that Tunasri and Morris were not getting along together. The less time he could spend in their company, the better.

Kitsu heard another sound ahead. He ran to the spot where he thought it had originated. He found nothing. While spending a few minutes looking at the surrounding area to see if he could find the source of the noise, he heard it again, toward the mountains. Cautiously, Kitsu moved to the new location and waited. Surely enough, it occurred again after he had waited long enough.

There was no doubt about it. Something was trying to lure him in. Kitsu ran through his options: follow the sound, come back later with Morris and Tunasri, or ignore it completely. He decided to follow it.

Before he did, however, he decided to make some preparations. Whenever he went into Diis Evera, Kitsu always made sure to keep an eye out for unique items, and sometimes had Eris of the Traveler's Inn watch the markets when he was gone from the town for longer periods of time. In that fashion, he had found the invaluable Beacon Dagger.

Pulling out the dagger, he also retrieved a slip of parchment, a pen, ink, and some light rope. He wrote a quick note, tied it to the dagger, and returned the pen and ink to his pack. Very carefully, he took the dagger and gently pressed the blade into his left palm, letting his blood soak the strange white-colored metal. He then thrust the dagger into the ground. From the spot where the blade entered the soil, a column of light appeared, as far across as the length of Kitsu's arm and stretching up into the heavens. Satisfied that the light would alert his two companions and bring them to investigate, Kitsu headed off in the direction he had heard the sound.

Many times, Kitsu repeated the process of following the distant sound. At each stop, he left a plain dagger stuck in the ground with instructions for Morris and Tunasri to follow him. Shortly after he had reached the base of the mountains, the light disappeared from the sky, signaling that the other two had found and recovered his dagger. It was also at that time that the sounds stopped, so Kitsu waited for his team to catch up.

A speck of light over the hills alerted him to the approach of someone with a torch. As Morris and Tunasri came into view, their light revealed what Kitsu had been unable to see in the darkness: just a short climb above their heads was the dark entrance to a tunnel.


	37. Chapter 36: Path to Nowhere

Chapter 36: Path to Nowhere

For close to a fortnight, the three warriors attempted to navigate the tunnels underneath the mountain range. None of them knew exactly what they were searching for, exactly, but it was not an accident that they had been led to the caves. Something was inside, and it was only a matter of time before they found out what it was.

On the second day, Tunasri was leading the group when the cavern walls burst into flame. If he had been on foot, the others would have surely been burned, but because Tunasri was riding his dodongo steed, Morris and Kitsu were far enough back to be saved from the flames. After a few seconds the fire subsided, revealing an unharmed, though fairly annoyed, Tunasri.

From then on, they were especially alert to their surroundings. Hardly a day went by when they didn't encounter some kind of trap designed to repel intruders. Pitfalls, collapsing ceilings, hidden explosives, all were present, although Kitsu noted that none of them were particularly deadly. What wasn't easily avoided could usually be withstood, and none of the devices ever managed to completely block the forward progress of the party. After seven days in the tunnels, they began to notice major changes. They encountered no more traps, and side passages no longer appeared. The only thing they ever noticed to distinguish any one place from another was a steel cage built into the right wall of the tunnel. On the opposite side of the cage, there was another set of steel bars, and beyond it the tunnel looked as though it continued past that. Unfortunately, the cage was impossible to enter, even with Tunasri's brute strength, Morris' magic arrows, and Kitsu's razor-sharp blades. They continued on.

"Have you noticed that we're just going in a big circle?" Kitsu asked on the eleventh day.

"What're you talking about, kid?" Tunasri replied crossly, still angry that he had been used to forge their way through most of the traps they had encountered earlier.

"The tunnel always turns to the right. Ever since we ran into that last trap, we haven't turned left at all."

"It's nothing, kid," the knight explained. "Tunnels curve all the time. Later on it'll probably seem like it's going to the left all the time. You don't even notice it when you've been underground as much as I have." Out of evidence, Kitsu looked to Morris for help, silently pleading with the quiet archer for support.

"Even if you are right," he said at last, "What do you plan to do?"

"W-what do you mean?" Kitsu asked.

"If the tunnel is, as you say, going in circles, than that information does us no use now, because there is only one way to proceed."

"I guess you're right…"

"Furthermore," the archer continued, "It may be that the tunnel is spiraling upward, or decreasing in radius. The fact that we are moving in a circle does not necessarily mean that we will end up back where we started." Without any more reasons to protest, Kitsu fell silent. On the next day, however, something happened that changed their opinions.

Kitsu was searching the area ahead for traps when he saw a glint of metal off the right. As he drew nearer, he found himself filled with dread: it was the same cage they had encountered earlier. He said as much to Tunasri.

"You're imagining things again. We don't know that it's the same one."

"We don't know that it isn't, either."

"Yes, we do," Morris pointed out. "If it were the same one, the tunnel would have had to fork to form the tunnel we arrived through, joining at the last fork before we found the cage. We haven't encountered such a fork, so it simply can't be the same location."

"but-" he stopped as a familiar voice came from ahead.

"Is somebody there?" The voice had the rasping quality that came from not being used in days. The three warriors cautiously drew closer, until the light from the torch illuminated the enclosure. As they approached, Kitsu knew who would be within.

"How did you get here?" Link asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," Kitsu replied, slightly angered. "I thought you were going to go up into the mountains."

"If I may interject, we are currently under the mountain range," Morris told them. "If Link did indeed go into the mountains, it is conceivable that he could have come to be here."

"Is that you, Morris?" Link asked. "You're here too?"

Kitsu frowned. Link should have been able to see them approaching. Looking closer, he saw that the boy's eyes were shut. He finally found the courage to inquire about it. "Did something happen to your eyes?" he asked.

"They're fine, but your torch is kinda bright," Link assured them.

"Poor lad's probably been in the darkness since... well, whenever he got down here," Tunasri explained.

"Tunasri, too? We're all here."

"We can have the reunion later," Kitsu said impatiently. "Just tell us how you ended up down here."

"I fell," Link told them. Experimentally, he tried opening one eye, but apparently found the torch to be still too bright, for he closed it immediately. "I was…"

Whatever he said afterwards was lost in the confusion that followed. A massive explosion rocked the tunnels, triggering a rockfall on the outside of the cage. As the noise began to settle down, Kitsu swore that he heard the sound of steel on steel, but wasn't sure, as another rockfall occurred immediately afterward. In a few seconds it was over.

"Link!" Kitsu called out. The falling rocks had blocked the cage from view, but Link should have still been okay within. In the silence that followed, Kitsu remembered the second rockfall. "LINK!"


	38. Chapter 37: The Final Protector

Chapter 37: The Final Protector

_As the final rock positioned itself directly over Link, the hero tried as hard as he could to press himself into the corner between the rocks and the floor. It was a faint chance, but it might just be enough to prevent him from becoming seriously harmed. At any rate, he was out of options._

_The final rock descended. In the next moment, Link was falling, the floor broken apart by the massive blow it had just received. Link only had time to thank the goddesses that he had been spared before he hit the ground again and blacked out._

_When he came to, he was in a complete enclosure. There was no light at all down in his prison, but careful exploration by running his hands around on the walls revealed that he was being kept in a tunnel of some sort, with steel bars blocking him from going in either direction. The only point of reference was a faint light in the hole through which he had fallen, and it was just enough to tell him which way was up._

_After days in the cell, a light began to shine between the steel bars on one side of the enclosure. Although it was at first relieving, the light continued to grow brighter and brighter, until Link's eyes hurt from it. He had been happy to learn that his friends were there, but just as quickly, there were the rockfalls, then the sound of steel being sheared in half, and Link had been rushed away._

Link's eyes barely registered what was going on. Already hurting from the sudden light after days in darkness, Link now found himself straining to make out the blurred shapes rushing past him at high speeds.

Finally admitting that his vision was of no use at that point, he turned instead to his other senses. Hearing only told him that the rockfalls were still occurring, although the commotion they caused gradually grew fainter and fainter as time went by. Smell and taste were useless to him in such a situation, so it was from his sense of touch that Link gathered most of his information. The wind against his face told him that he was moving, and fast, the pressure against his ribs informed him that he was being carried. Once more, Link tried to see his surroundings, mainly to determine the identity of whoever was moving him.

A sound ahead, and Link became aware that the ceiling had begun to collapse in front of them. As he braced himself for either frantic evasion or the impact of several very large boulders, he was surprised instead to find himself pelted repeatedly with small stones. Slightly bruised but otherwise unharmed, they continued onward. Occasionally, Link thought that the other person was trying to talk to him, but the rushing wind and Link's disorientation made interpreting any of it impossible.

How long they continued like that, Link had no idea. After the sound of falling stones had died down, the sense of urgency faded, but they still continued along at a brisk pace. As Link struggled to reorient himself, he became aware that he was being spoken to.

"Sorry about the rough ride," the other apologized. "I panicked a little when the ceiling started falling."

"It's alright," Link said. At least, that's what he thought he said. The other person didn't seem to notice that anything had been said, or he might have just been choosing to ignore it if he did. He tried to free himself.

"Easy there, we're not completely out of it yet. Just a little farther and we can rest a little."

"I can walk," Link protested. Again, no indication he had been heard. He decided to try speaking a little louder. "Put me down," he instructed. No immediate response, but a few minutes later he found himself being gently lowered to the ground.

"You okay?" the man asked. "You seem a little out of it."

"Who are you?" Link managed to ask. The question had been nagging at the back of his mind since he had become aware of his situation.

"Forgotten me already? I'm a little hurt."

"I can't see," Link explained, his mind racing to think of who this might be. "The light's too bright."

"You'll get used to it in a minute or so. Don't worry about it."

"What happened to the others?" He tried opening his eyes, but could only make out the blurred outlines of objects.

"They were outside the range of the quakes, so they should be fine. They'll have one hell of a time trying to find their way over here, though."

"Where are we?"

"The second ring of tunnels. Kitsu and the others are in the first ring."

Link processed this new information while his vision cleared. "Ritsuki?"

"Right on the mark, kid."

"When did you get here? Did you come with the others?"

"Unfortunately, it seems that they forgot to invite me," Ritsuki explained. "It was slightly insulting, but I'll manage. As soon as I got word of what you all were doing up here, I came over and decided to help. Well, I tried to help, but I got lost in the mountains and ended up in here. It was a bit of a coincidence that I managed to show up where you all were."

"Do the others know where we are?" Link asked hopefully.

"I doubt that they even know that I'm here," the swordsman answered bitterly. "They'll probably come looking for you, but it's unlikely that any of them know another way to cross between the rings."

"Why didn't we just cross over to the ring they were in?"

"I had a few reasons. First, there were rocks falling everywhere, and bars between them and us. I could have cut through them, but it would have taken more time than we had in there."

"Sounds reasonable, I guess." Despite what he has told Ritsuki, Link was disappointed that the rest of his friends wouldn't be able to join them.

"More importantly," Ritsuki continued, "They are in the _first_ ring. Going into there would be a step back from where we are now, which is the _second_ ring."

"Rings for what?" Link inquired.

"It's a maze," the swordsman explained. "There are seven rings, and in the center is whatever's causing this whole mess."

"What do you mean, causing it? What's going on here?" Link had been wondering about that for weeks.

Ritsuki sighed. "Look, I'll explain it to you. Somewhere in these mountains, there's a really powerful being. Recently, the being has been getting stronger, resulting in the number of monsters in the region also increasing. Defeat the strong monster, all of the weaker ones go back into hiding. Can you follow all of that?" Link nodded. He had encountered situations like that all of the time in Hyrule.

"Good, because here's the bad news. We know absolutely nothing about this creature, and have even less knowledge about how to kill it. Got any suggestions?"

"Just use whatever you can find," Link advised. Ritsuki simply stared at him for a few seconds.

"No offence, but that has to be the _stupidest_ plan I've ever heard. It's not even a plan! What ever possessed you to even _think_ of trying something like that?"

"It's always worked for me."

"It's a wonder you've managed to survive this long."

"Got any better plans?"

"Sadly, that's the best I've managed to come up with, too. I guess we'll just stick with it and see how it turns out." The swordsman got up and walked to the other side of the room.

"Where are you going?" Link asked, also getting up.

"Ring three," Ritsuki replied as he drew his massive sword and drove it into the stone wall.


	39. Chapter 38: Waves, Wind, and Flames

Chapter 38: Waves, Wind, and Flames

The stone crumbled away to reveal a torch-lit tunnel. Ritsuki wiped the rock fragments off of his sword before replacing it onto his back.

"How did you know about that?" Link asked in amazement. The swordsman reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled from it a folded piece of cloth.

"Map," he explained. "Not very useful for telling what we'll run into, but it gives fairly detailed instructions on how to move between sections."

"So it doesn't have _any_ information about the next ring?"

"Only that the exit is at the lowest point of the ring, but otherwise unblocked."

"Great." He shifted his sword so that he would be able to draw it faster in case they needed it, then stepped through into the tunnel with Ritsuki right behind him. The torches revealed a stone door in front of them, which slowly sank into the ground as they approached. Beyond lay the third ring.

They were greeted by the sound of surging water. As they took the step past the threshold, the stone slab raised itself back to its original position, trapping them on a platform barely long enough for Ritsuki to lay down on. It was not dark, but neither was it well lit. All illumination in the third ring came from strange glowing rocks on the floor below them. Between them and the floor was a stream of swiftly flowing water too deep to stand in.

"Do you see any other platforms?" Ritsuki asked. The dim, distorted light made telling impossible.

"No," Link answered in dismay. "Is there anything on the walls?"

"I can't tell without more light," he replied. Link reached into his pack and pulled out a torch. The torch was made of Deku wood, which had never failed to amaze him. While still attached to a living tree or plant, Deku wood was fireproof and virtually impervious to being broken, although it could be cut with enough force. However, when the plant died, or if the wood became cut off, it became fragile. More importantly, it caught fire extremely quickly, but burned long enough to make a useful torch.

He spoke the incantation, and the stick burst into flame. Much experimentation had been required before he had found a way to light torches the same as his fire arrows, but the result was well worth the time it had taken. The room was now clearly visible.

There were no platforms to jump to, no handholds to grab. The platform on which they stood at that moment was the only place Link could see that wasn't under the water. About to give up, Link remembered something.

"Here," he said, handing the torch to Ritsuki. He reached into his pack and pulled out a second one, using the flame from the first to ignite it.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find how far it is to the next platform." He headed to the right side of the platform.

"Link, it should be the other way."

Link stopped. "The water is flowing this way. Wouldn't this was be lower?"

"Just trust me. The map says that the next passage is to the right after about a half day of walking."

"Are you sure?"

"The map hasn't been wrong yet," Ritsuki said confidently. Link decided to trust him and go upstream, to the left. "What exactly are you planning? You can't swim against this current." Link said nothing, but backed up as far as he could manage without falling into the water. Hoping that he had enough room, he sprinted as fast as he could in the direction Ritsuki had indicated.

As he'd expected, his foot hit the water but didn't go through. Step after step, he ran along the surface of the underground river. Once he had started going, he looked down to see what the floor was like. It was covered in urchin-like creatures, their spines black and, in some cases, as long as Link's forearm.

As he began to turn out of sight of Ritsuki's torch, the water began to grow turbulent. It sloshed back and forth, almost causing Link to lose his footing. He ran even faster, hoping to outrun the waves and reach the calm, smooth waters that were always just ahead, out of his reach. Instead of getting closer, they drew farther and farther away, and soon were almost completely out of sight as Link was surrounded by waves. The water was splashing up higher now, sometimes causing sprays against the walls that threatened to put out his torch. He wondered how far he was, and how he would know when he had reached the exit, but none of it mattered anymore. The waves had caught up to him, and he sank into the now-dark waters.

He was surprised to find himself quite alive when he awoke. He sat up in alarm, confused as to how it was that he hadn't drowned.

"You okay?" Ritsuki asked. The swordsman was leaning against the wall behind Link. "You were out for a while. Again."

"How did we get here?"

"I would claim that that's _my_ line, but I'm going to assume that you can't explain how you did what you did either."

"What do you mean?"

"Running on the water. Never mind how impossible that should be, as soon as you left, the water started draining out of the channel. Not completely, but enough that I could run after you."

"Where are we?"

"Between the third and fourth rings. The exit was an underwater tunnel, and you found it!" He grinned. "Well, sort of. When you got pulled under, you somehow ended up in here, and I followed."

"What's the fourth ring like?"

"Haven't got a clue. The exit's fairly obvious looking, but nothing other than that."

After Link had rested and regained his strength, they ascended the ladder to the next region. At the top, they found themselves standing on a stone spire, with wind blowing all around them.

"Why are these always such small platforms?" Ritsuki yelled as a particularly loud gust of wind hit them. Instead of responding, Link was focusing on the ring. Spikes jutted out from the walls everywhere, some large enough to stand on, others smaller in size. All of them looked deadly.

"Which way is the exit?" Link asked, pulling out his grappling hook.

"You're crazy. If you try swinging on that thing, we'll get blown into the walls."

"Trust me."

Angrily, Ritsuki indicated the left side of the tunnel. Link hurled the grappling hook at a spike some distance down the wall, latching in place. He grabbed the rope, motioning for Ritsuki to do the same. When they both had firm grips on the rope, he pushed off from the spire on which they stood, swinging toward the deadly wall.

Just before hitting, Link gave the rope a sharp tug, dislodging the hook from the spike. As they began to fall, he threw it at another spike down the tunnel, catching it just moments before they would have been impaled on the ground below. When they reached the end of that swing, he repeated the process.

"You're crazy," Ritsuki accused as they landing on the platform in front of an ornate door. "How did you ever manage to survive this long?"

"I got us here, didn't I?"

"Barely." The older warrior stepped forward and pushed on the door. It opened, but a blast of fire sent him jumping back. The fifth ring was filled with flames, molten rock, and smoke.

"Any suggestions?" he asked.

"Just one," Link replied. "Run straight for the exit."

"You're going to get us killed," Rituski warned, "but I guess that you've already been on the verge of killing us twice, and we ended up fine. Might as well get it over with." Without another word, he charged into the heat, running to the next door. Link hastily followed behind. Flames shot at them from all sides, rock crumbled beneath their feet to reveal hidden pools of lava, and soot obscured their vision, but they somehow made it to the next door.

"Open it!" Ritsuki yelled at him.

"How?" Smoke was filling his lungs and he knew he didn't have much longer before he passed out."

"The Sword! The sword of burning opens the door!" Link quickly pulled out the sword and struck the wall with it. There was a great flash of light, and the stone crumbled away. Not wasting a second, the two ran through the opening.

They fell into a stone corridor. Unlike the previous rings, the sixth ring was lined with stone bricks. Link had been hoping that he could rest a little, but as soon as he looked around he knew he was mistaken.

The sixth ring was filled with mist the color of blood.


	40. Chapter 39: A Ring of Blood

Chapter 39: A Ring of Blood

"What the hell is this?" Ritsuki yelled in surprise. Everything around them was red. For a brief moment, Link's mind flashed back to the other labyrinth, where he had been pursued by clouds of the same color. Was it a similar situation?

He quickly shook off the feeling. Before, the clouds had been illuminated by the fires of the demon. This room was merely filled with mist that, to Link and Ritsuki's horror, appeared to be composed of minute droplets of blood. Even so, Link knew instinctively that they would find two things in this layer of the maze.

The first would be monsters, hidden in the mist. In the best scenario, the monsters would merely use the mists to hide their movements and launch surprise attacks on the blinded heroes. It would be hard, but the two would find a way to beat them. The worst scenario involved monsters that grew stronger from the blood mist. Given the dangerous nature of the previous areas, which they had passed through mostly by chance and luck rather than skill or strength, it would be the latter. Even so, the monsters would be the least of their worries.

Link had been able to tell almost instantly upon entering the chamber that there was some magical quality in the mist. He couldn't tell what it was, but somewhere along the way it would prove to be a greater obstacle than any monsters could provide. That would be the true defense of the sixth ring.

"Which way is the exit?" Link asked.

"This ring is different from the others," Ritsuki informed him. "There is no inner wall, and the exit is in the exact center of the room."

"Where's the seventh ring, then?" Link asked, confused.

"Directly above us. There's a section of the floor in the center that will rise up to take us there."

"How is the section marked?"

"There is a mosaic on the floor in that location," the swordsman answered.

Link frowned at the new complication. With the mist in the air, they wouldn't be able to see the spot until they were practically on top of it. With no inner walls, they would get disoriented easily, especially if they were forced into a fight with whatever was lurking within the mists.

"We might as well go," Link forced himself to say. "Stay close to me." Together they took a few steps out into the center of the room. Nothing happened. They took a few more steps, always moving slowly, always remaining within arm's reach of each other. With each step, their visibility dropped just slightly. By the time they would reach the center, they would be unable to see anything at all.

Dark shapes manifested just outside their vision. Without hesitating, Link drew the Sword of Burning and charged directly at them. In seconds, they had been sliced to pieces, but more remained just out of his reach. He took a few steps and killed a few more.

Suddenly, the air was filled with an unbearable scream. It was the more horrifying sound Link had ever heard, but he kept himself under control. Rather than petrifying him with fear, the sound told him exactly what he was up against. In all of his travels, he had never encountered a creature capable of mimicking the unique call of a ReDead.

Another scream, this one human, followed. With dismay, Link realized that it was Ritsuki. Although Link had faced the undead monsters before and had built up an immunity to their petrifying call, Ritsuki had no such experience, and the first screams had paralyzed him on the spot. As fast as he could without disorienting himself, Link ran back to where his companion had been caught by one of the creatures. A careful sword swing had the problem solved, and Link looked around to find all of the ReDeads gone.

"Did we beat them all?" he asked.

"Link…" Ritsuki said anxiously from behind him. Link looked around to see a dim shape moving toward them from the left. The smell of rotting flesh overpowered the smell of blood as the creature inched closer in a strange lurching manner.

"They weren't here to stop us," the swordsman observed. "They were here as prey for…that."

"Don't be ridiculous," Link told him. "Just because there's something stronger here doesn't mean that they weren't part of the defense."

"As soon as that thing came close, they all vanished, Link. They're afraid of it."

Despite the monstrosity's immense size, it was almost on them. They didn't dare run for fear of getting lost, but to stay seemed like suicide. Link brought the Sword of Burning to bear against the creature.

Dimly, he heard someone shouting. It was a few seconds before he recognized it as his own voice. He didn't recognize any of the words he used, but with a blinding flash, his sword lit up in flames, extending visibility enough to see the monster. Immediately, he wished that it had remained hidden.

The monstrosity towered over them, at least twice as tall as Ritsuki. Every inch of it was covered in rotting flesh, and in places Link could see extruding bones. The body gradually thinned out until the top, where a neck as long as Link's entire arm ended in a head that lacked any features whatsoever.

_Dead Hand_, Link thought as he tried to remember what Navi had told him. The dead hand was not living, so wounding its flesh had no effect. The only way to stop it was to split open its head, or to decapitate it. Neither of those strategies would work against this larger version of the monster, as its head was far out of reach. Link wondered how it fed if its head couldn't reach the ground. Did this one have hands hidden in the ground somewhere, waiting to ambush its prey?

The beast lowered its head, and Link knew for certain that it wasn't a standard Dead Hand. The eye sockets were covered by a thin layer of flesh. Neither did the creature have a mouth. Whatever bizarre mutation of the original this was, it baffled him. Seconds later, everything became clearer.

The main body of the monster opened in a vertical slit, running all the way from near the ground up to the base of the neck. As the slit opened wider, Link saw rib bones on the inside, pushing out the layers of flesh to reveal the creature's innards.

Instead of organs, a mass of razor-sharp bones thrashed about within the creatures chest. Further up, Link saw what he hoped was a vital target. Just above and behind the mass of bones was a living, beating heart. Sticking his sword into the ground, where it continued to burn brightly, Link pulled out his bow. Not taking any chances, he muttered the incantation for a light arrow, took careful aim, and fired. The arrow flew directly at the heart, but at the last second, the entire mass shifted so that the arrow struck harmlessly into the outer flesh of the monster. Frustrated by the miss, Link pulled out several extra arrows. He prepared to fire again, but hesitated as he saw the creature.

Where the arrow had struck, the flesh was dissolving. Rapidly dying flesh fell off of disintegrating bones in an area on the monster that was growing quickly in size. Link fired off three more light arrows, hitting places near the first but far enough apart to maximize damage.

With an earthshaking moan, the creature lunged forward. The shifting bones within its chest extended outward toward Link, who escaped with only minor scratches as he leapt out of the range of the attack. He glanced back to make sure Ritsuki was out of the range as well, then turned his attention back to the monster. The light arrows had stopped eating away at the rotting flesh, but the damage they had done was substantial. Link estimated that only a few more would have it destroyed. He reached for another arrow, wondering why he suddenly felt faint.

"Link, you're bleeding!" Ritsuki called out at him. Link looked in horror at the wounds the monster had given him. Even though they were only scratches, they were constantly spraying Link's blood into the air, as though the mist itself were drawing out the blood. He had found the magic properties of the mist.

While this was going on, the opposite happened to the monster. It drew itself up as though inhaling, drawing the blood in the air into its heart. As it did so, the destroyed flesh on its side began to regenerate, until it appeared the same as it had when it had first appeared.

Link wondered how he could beat something that could heal from anything, while any wound it inflicted on him would constantly sap his strength. His gaze fell downward to the ground just in front of the monstrosity, where the sword of burning was still stuck in the floor. Link dashed forward, yanking the sword up and swinging it at the monster's heart in one fluid motion. He cried out in pain as the bones penetrated his body, but continued with his strike. A second later, the bones stopped their thrashing, and the monster was still.

There was a loud splash as the blood mist fell to the ground. Link noted with satisfaction that the only wounds from which he was bleeding were the major ones. He tumbled back into Ritsuki, who had run forward to catch him.

"You're definitely going to get yourself killed before you reach adulthood," he warned. He pulled out a roll of bandages that he used to stop Link's bleeding.

"Hey, it worked," Link said weakly. Within minutes he was able to stand, and together they stepped onto the nearby mosaic depicting an overlapping sun and moon. The floor rose quickly to the next chamber, a temple-type room with incredibly high ceilings. Directly in front of them lay a bar-covered stone door. One-sixth of a rotation to the left was a statue of a proud angel holding a massive sword. The entire thing was at least five times as tall as Link. To the left was a statue of a demon.

Dimly, Link recalled the words on the letter Kitsu had left him. _The way is blocked but the Demon has the key_. To Link, the answer was glaringly obvious. He walked forward and placed his hand on the stone demon.

"What are you doing?" Ritsuki cried out as the statue came to life.


	41. Chapter 40: Ascend to the Heavens

Chapter 40: Ascend to the Heavens

Shards of rock flew at them as the boulder shattered. Even though it was out of the way, more still shifted down into its position.

"This isn't working," Morris stated. "The only thing that's happening is we're making the ceiling even move unstable."

"What would you suggest we do?" Tunasri demanded. For almost an hour after the rockfalls had buried Link, they had been working to clear away that section of the tunnel. Since neither Kitsu nor Morris had the means to do so, the task fell almost completely on the knight, who was capable of shattering rocks with his fists.

"Do you have an idea, Morris?" Kitsu asked. The archer said nothing, but Kitsu saw that he frequently directed his gaze upward.

Tunasri also noticed. "There's no way we can climb up there," he protested. Directly above them, a shaft in the rocks rose up to the ceiling. "We don't even know that it opens up anywhere."

"Link said that he fell into the cell," Morris recalled. "This must be where he fell, and even though the cell is filled up with rock and the other end is buried, we can still reach this. It's probably our only way out."

"How are we supposed to climb that?"

"More importantly," Kitsu interrupted, "Us escaping won't help Link." The other two turned to stare at him.

"There are two possible scenarios here," Morris said grimly. "Either Link was buried under all of these rocks and killed, or he found another way out. If he managed to survive, there's no way we can reach him, and there's no point in trying if he was killed."

Kitsu hated the detached way Morris looked at everything. "What if he didn't escape?" he asked. "What if he's still alive, but under the rocks?"

"He isn't," Morris reminded him. "We called out to him and got no response. If he survived, he's out of hearing range, and too far back for us to reach."

"So the only way out is up?"

"It seems to be that way."

"Aren't you two overlooking something?" Tunasri asked. "We can't climb this."

"It should be easy for _you_. You have your grappling hook."

"The clawshot can't grab solid rock," he protested. Morris responded by reaching into his pack and pulled out a long, pointed blade with a narrow barb on its tip.

"What is that?" Kitsu asked.

"This is a Needleshot."

"A what?" Tunasri looked to Kitsu, who merely shrugged. He had never heard of it either.

"It was a variant on the hookshot designed specifically for sticking to solid rock."

"That thing holds on to rock?" Tunasri inquired. Morris nodded. "It doesn't look very strong."

"It'll hold," the archer assured him.

"How many of those do you have?" Kitsu asked.

"Two." That could present a problem. Both would probably be needed to get one person up the shaft.

"How do we all get up, then?"

"It's quite simple," Morris explained. "One of us will ascend at a time, then drop the needleshots to the people at the bottom. It'll take a bit longer, but we'll all get up."

"I'll go first," Kitsu volunteered. He took the devices from Morris and began ascending. After what seemed like hours of tedious work, he reached the chamber above. Dropping the tools down to the other two waiting at the bottom, he turned just in time to see the attack coming. He leapt out of the path of the boulder, losing his balance and nearly falling into the pit he had just climbed out of.

Quickly regaining his balance, he carefully maneuvered away from the pit, searching for a way out. The doors were blocked by metal bars, and there were no other openings other than the pit.

While he was looking around, his attacker regrouped. It was not a creature, at least not in the sense he usually thought. Instead, seven large rocks, each taller than a man and only slightly smaller across, floated around. They rushed at him again; one right after another, so that Kitsu barely had time to dodge each assault. When the last one had passed, Kitsu pulled out his knives and slashed at the retreating backside of the boulder. Sparks leapt out at him as the daggers slid across the surface of the rock, but they left no marks.

The first boulder was already on its way back. Kitsu dodged as he had before, but when the last one came he jumped on top of it and attempted to plunge his dagger into the stone. The point of the blade hit the stone and slide sideways along its surface, once again leaving no marks, although Kitsu received a shallow cut on his inner thigh. Not wanting to be forced into a trap, he allowed himself to slide off and land back on the ground.

Running out of options, Kitsu decided to jump to something that he would normally only consider when he had tried a few more options, but he expected most of his attacks to yield similar results. Kneeling down for a brief second, he retrieved a small throwing dagger from his boot. He prepared to throw it at the largest rock, but at the last second changed his target. As the knife flew closer to the rock, Kitsu shouted a command, and the area was lit up with a bright flash. The dagger, now emitting a blindingly bright glow, plunged through to the other side of the boulder, where it emerged in a shower of rocks. Its core destroyed, the rock crumbled into smaller pieces which fell to the ground at the feet of Tunasri, who had just finished climbing.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What does it look like?" Kitsu shouted back, dodging another onslaught of boulders. "It's a giant hostile rock!"

"Not that," the knight clarified, punching one of the rocks that came after him. It didn't break into pieces as the rocks at the bottom of the shaft had done, but it did get knocked back a good distance. "I meant the light."

"Morris and Link aren't the only ones who can learn a few neat tricks with their weapons," he explained quickly. This time, two of the rocks came at him at once. He dropped down to the floor to avoid them, but to his horror one of the rocks did the same. He sprang to his feet in time to see Tunasri running in and punching the nearest rock. It slid along the floor and crashed into the other, and as it floated away to the other side of the room Kitsu saw that one side of it was falling away. He looked to the other rock that had collided, which was currently slammed against the wall. Surely enough, it was also falling apart, revealing a glowing crystal.

Instinctively, Kitsu ran up and plunged one of his swords into the crystal. For a moment the glow intensified as the jewel held against the attack, but a second later it gave way and shattered.

"Do you think you could do that light thing again?" Tunasri demanded. The knight was surrounded by a trio of the floating boulders, which were beginning to evade and resist his punches. Kitsu saw the rock from earlier approaching the area and managed to hit it in the jewel with a thrown dagger. The knight grabbed his mace off of his back and used it to strike one of the rocks. The side crumbled, though not enough to reveal the gem.

"I can't use it too often," Kitsu explained as he evaded another rock. Tunasri managed to open up the side of one of the rocks, smashing the gem. The remaining two left the knight alone, joining with the third remaining boulder to converge on Kitsu from all sides. Desperately searching for a way out, Kitsu was caught off guard as one of the rocks shattered into tiny fragments. A second later, he clearly heard the high-pitched screeching sound that he had missed a second earlier. An arrow flew through the air into another rock. Instead of hitting the rock and bouncing off, a globe of chaotic winds expanded from where it struck, shredding the boulder to pieces. The same fate awaited the last one. As the dust from the explosions cleared, Kitsu saw Morris walking away from the pit, bow in hand.

"Shall we go?" he asked nonchalantly. The other two fell into step behind him as he led the way to the door. The iron bars slid away as they approached followed a second later by the stone door. Beyond was a vast chamber, expanding far in every direction. Despite the enormity of the room, the only way to go was along a gently curving ramp that led off into the distance. They followed it without incident, noting the ruined columns and structures that sometimes stood on plateaus just beyond their reach.

After following the path to its end, they found themselves facing a wide staircase, leading up to a grandly-styled doorway. "What's the point of making us go that far down if we've only gotta climb up again?" Tunasri asked rhetorically, but they ascended it regardless. The door at the top slid open readily, but as they stepped through it slammed shut with such force that Kitsu knew that it wouldn't open again for them so easily.

They found themselves in a large, round chamber. The ceiling arced up into a dome a good distance above them, and a large pit occupied the center of the room, extending almost all the way to the walls. _We're standing on a balcony_, Kitsu realized, although his discover was soon overshadowed by what he saw next. In the bottom of the room, two swordsmen stood ready for combat. Their opponent was a massive stone demon.


	42. Chapter 41: Demon's Awakening

Chapter 41: Demon's Awakening

A giant stone fist descended on them from above. Link and Ritsuki barely had enough time to rush out of its way to avoid being crushed. The arm slowly returned to the air, revealing a waist-deep crater where the impact had occurred. The two stepped back, trying to increase the distance between them and the statue that was advancing on them. It raised its clawed hand a second time, but instead of striking at the two swordsmen, it lashed out at the balcony above them. Link was confused by the creatures attack until he saw a familiar figure land beside him.

"Having fun?" Kitsu asked. He sounded tired, as though he had just gone through an extremely demanding battle.

"How did you get here?" The statue struck at the balcony a second time and an armored figure fell from the upper level. Halfway to the ground, the falling knight abruptly changed direction, swinging sideways as though on an invisible string. As Link looked closer, he saw that the knight _was_ as such, having used his massive chain mace to wrap around the arm of the demon. At the same time, a tall figure leapt from the balcony to the fist of the demon as it struck a third time, running up the arm and firing glowing arrows at the statue's head.

"We'll talk later," Kitsu promised, running off to help. As he neared the base of the moving statue, he jumped into the air. Landing on the side of the statue's leg, he jumped off again before he had time to fall. This brought him up to the level of the demon's arm, which he swiftly climbed up, slashing at the stone with flashing knives.

Next to him, Ritsuki was hacking away at the feet of the demon with his massive sword, slowly chipping a crevasse in the stone. Link ran to the other leg to attempt a similar feat, making much quicker progress despite the greater strength and head start that Ritsuki had. With each blow, the sword of burning flashed with red flame, blasting away at the rocks. Above them, the others were continuing to strike at the demon's head and shoulders, although none of their attacks were able to even dent the stone.

Suddenly, Ritsuki stopped attacking. Keeping his sword ready against the giant enemy, he slowly backed up until he was out of range of the statue's arms. He then raised his sword over his head and leapt straight at the statue's chest, farther than Link had ever thought it possible to jump. Just before hitting the stone, he brought the sword down in a vertical slash, just missing the statue by a hair's breadth.

Right behind him, Link heard the dull thud behind him that signaled Ritsuki had returned to the ground. At first, the statue froze but appeared otherwise unmarked, but after a second there was a loud _crack_, and a fissure opened in the statue, running right where Ritsuki had almost hit.

"What did you do?" Link asked. He had seen the swordsman's attack, and would have sworn before all three goddesses that it had not connected.

"Split," the warrior replied simply. He offered no explanation, but merely grabbed Link by the shoulder and pulled him back. Similarly, the other three of the Protectors were also retreating, satisfied that Ritsuki had managed to finish off the statue. Looking up, Link saw the chest tremble. Ritsuki jumped up a second time and thrust his sword at the deepest part of the fissure he had opened up. A bluish glow seemed to surround the blade as it plunged into the chest.

Suddenly, the blade stopped. Ritsuki cried out in surprise as a dull black hand reached out of the crevasse and closed around him. With a massive explosion, the stone shattered into a thousand pieces that flew in every direction. When the dust and debris had cleared and Link opened his eyes, he looked to see what had caused the explosion. Hovering on leathery wings in the center of the room was a demon. Its head was twisted and repulsive, with sleek horns extending back over its long, outstretched neck. In front of the wings were two long arms, as long as Ritsuki's sword and extending all the way to the creature's feet. It's hands were thin with long claws, as were it's feet. In it's left hand, it held Ritsuki's motionless body.

Raising its head, the demon let out an unearthly shriek. Filled with anger, Link charged at it with the sword of burning raised high. He swung it with all of his might, but the demon merely flew out of his reach. The same thing happened with the next strike, and the one after that.

A blurred shape shot past the monster, causing it to let out another scream, this time out of pain. Again and again, the blur struck at the demon. On one of the strikes, it passed close enough to Link to give him a clear view of the attacker. It was a young boy, dressed in brown leather armor under a tunic with a red eye painted on it.

On the next attack, the demon lashed out at Kitsu, slamming him down into the ground. He struggled to get up, but was only able to raise his head before falling back. He didn't move again.

Even more enraged than before, Link slashed at the monster in a frenzy. Blindingly bright red flames ran up the blade, burning away at the demon's black flesh when the sword made contact. The demon dropped Ritsuki's body and flew upward, gathering darkness around it as it ascended. Without a second thought, Link dropped the Sword of Burning and reached out, grabbing Kitsu with one hand and Ritsuki with the other. Suddenly the demon shot downward in a shroud of darkness, hitting the ground directly below it with a massive explosion, tinged with green-hued light.


	43. Chapter 42: Angel's Awakening

Chapter 42: Angel's Awakening

For a few seconds, there was nothing. No sound, no smell. Link floated in an infinite void of green light.

Slowly, he became aware of the things around him. Wind whipped at his face, stinging his eyes. His hands were still gripping the bodies of Kitsu and Ritsuki, holding them in a deathgrip long after the light faded and revealed the landscape around them. They were standing right by the base of a colossal peak of rock, rising above them to touch the sun.

The weight in his right hand shifted, and he looked down to discover that Kitsu was already awake. Gently, Link set down Ritsuki in a comfortable position, then turned to Kitsu.

"What happened?" the warrior asked weakly. His eyes were only partially open, and he seemed to lack the strength to move. Still, he managed to slowly raise his head and search the area in front of him. "How did we get here?"

"I used magic to get the three of us out of there," Link answered.

"You really need more practice with that," Kitsu informed him. "Whatever spell you just used felt like being pulled straight through the rock to get us here."

"Farore's Wind shouldn't have felt like that," Link said, worried. "You took quite a beating from that demon, maybe that was it."

"No, it was the spell," Kitsu asserted. "You didn't feel anything like that?"

"Nope, not any of the times I've used it on myself."

"Probably wasn't meant to be used by more than one person at a time. Ritsuki should be glad he got to sleep through that."

"That might be it," Link agreed dubiously. He'd never heard of such a limitation, but he usually worked alone.

"Why do they call it 'Farore's Wind' anyway? Isn't Farore your goddess of courage?"

"Yeah."

"So why would you're goddess of courage help you to run away from a fight?"

"Because…" he stopped for a second. "You know, I don't really know. I guess I never really thought about it before."

"Maybe it means that there's more to the spell that you haven't mastered. Keep working on it."

"I will," he promised. "You seem to know a lot about the three goddesses."

"I'm Hylian too, remember? Anyway, you aren't the first person to pass through here after coming from Hyrule. I met a Hylian a few years ago who told me all kinds of stories about Hyrule, so that's where I learned about the goddesses."

"Another Hylian? Do you remember where they came from? Or where they went?"

"No, they never told me anything like that." He pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Now, how are we going to get back to help the others?"

"I could always use the spell again. I infused the spot we left with my magic, so I'm able to find it instantly and can just warp back there with magic again." He looked critically at Kitsu. "You're going to stay right here."

"What!" He tried jumping to his feet, but immediately winced in pain. Even though he was doing his best to hide the signs of the extent he was injured, Link could see Kitsu's eyes, and was amazed that the warrior was even able to remain conscious.

"You aren't in any condition to fight," Link instructed. "Besides, someone needs to stay here in case Ritsuki wakes up. I'll be back as soon as I can find the others." Without giving Kitsu the chance to reply, he began the spell again, stepping out of the other boy's reach to foil any desperate attempts to tag along.

He reappeared in the same room he had left the others, just as planned. As he felt the effects of the spell wear off, he fell several feet into a crater on the floor. Getting up, he climbed out of the charred depression and took a look around. The demon was gone, as were Morris and Tunasri. Carefully, he pulled himself up onto the floor.

From above, a shriek filled the room. From the distant shadows that concealed the ceiling of the chamber, an even darker shape revealed itself. With another screech that made Link's hair stand on end, the demon launched itself from its perch, falling toward him with lethal fury.

From his hiding place in a pile of rubble, Morris emerged, bow ready. Proceeding as quickly as possible, yet still with great care, the archer set an arrow to the string and pulled back as far as the bow would allow. With his target sure, he began an incantation that was strange to Link, and though he could barely hear the archer over the furious cries of the demon, he heard enough to recognize this incantation as the longest and most complex he had ever heard. Just as the demon was seconds away from reaching Link, Morris released his arrow, which flew directly at the evil beast. Flapping its leathery wings, the monstrosity managed to stop its descent, although it was still in the path of the arrow. Screeching even louder than before, the arrow seemed to stop in midair, as though it had struck an invisible wall. Reinforcing that illusion, the air around it turned dark and clouded, spreading out in a globe around the demon. For a few crucial seconds, the projectile slowly crept forward as it pulsed with intense light. However, just as it had almost penetrated the shield of darkness, it stopped. The light grew more intense than ever, and a second later the light expanded in a globe of destruction, tearing apart the darkness.

When the light cleared enough that Link could see again, the room was in a mess. Some pillars that had been close to the blast had been shredded to pieces. Morris was lying unconscious on the rubble heap, partially concealed by additional chunks of stone that had been knocked loose from the surrounding walls. Tunasri was still nowhere to be found. Where the explosion had originated, the demon remained suspended in the air. At first it seemed to be motionless, but closer inspection of it revealed to Link that every muscle in its body was twitching in excruciating pain.

Shaking off its momentary paralysis, the demon tilted back its head. Although there was no sound, it was obvious that the beast was screaming. Link found himself thrown backward. The demon lowered itself to the floor and slowly walked toward him. Link reached over his shoulder to draw the Sword of Burning.

His hand closed on empty air. His mind flashed back to just before he had escaped. He had dropped the sword, where was it now? Too late, he saw it, right underneath the demon's clawed foot. No way to get it now. His other weapons had been knocked away from him. No way to defend himself, not enough strength left to cast a spell or try to run away.

Was this how they were destined to meet their end? Morris, crushed beneath a pile of rubble, possibly already dead. Tunasri, vanished without a trace, probably dead. Ritsuki would certainly die if treatment could not be provided soon, and Kitsu would survive only a little while longer in the deep mountains. Had they finally met the opponent who could beat them all?

With nothing left to do, Link sat back against the stone behind him and awaited his fate. Above him, the giant stone angel stood undamaged, gazing out at the destruction that filled the rest of the room. It almost seemed to be asking a question.

_Are you afraid to die?_

_Isn't everybody,_ Link thought to himself.

_The only ones who are afraid to die are those whose lives have been without meaning._

_I don't want to die._

_What is the meaning of your life? _The angel seemed to be accusing him. _What do you want to do?_

_I want to go home._

_What will you do when you get there?_

_I want to live a normal life. I want to be free._

_Will you do that?_

_No, _Link corrected himself, _I will do whatever it takes to help._

_Who will you help?_

_Whoever needs it._

_Are you afraid to die?_ The question filled Link's mind.

"If it is necessary," he said out loud, "I would do so without hesitation. I will not fail."

_Live, then, and fight for your cause with your life._

The demon was only a few feet away. Link got up and stood ready against his opponent. His left hand closed around the hilt of the Master Sword as an aura of blue light surrounded him. Still, the demon pressed onward. When it raised its arm to swipe at him, he darted it, thrusting with the Master Sword. The blade pierced into the demon's side, and it cried out in pain and surprise. Retreating to the center of the room, the demon spread its wings and launched into the air, out of Link's reach.

_Fly._

Instinctively, Link leapt after the retreating beast. He knew that there was no rational expectation as to why he wouldn't just fall back to the ground, but it didn't matter to him. There was only him and his opponent. Rocks pelted him as the demon burst through the ceiling of the chamber, followed by Link as the distance between them grew shorter and shorter. Finally, it was in range. Link swung his sword with all of his might. The demon made an attempt to erect another shield, but it had no more effect on the sword than the air around it. The blade passed though the demon's chest, which let out one last scream as it crumbled into dust.

_Is that all? _Link thought.

_You have great courage._

_What does this mean? Why can I call the sword to me?_

_We do not have the answer to the questions you ask. Look for their answers among the souls of the dead._


	44. Chapter 43: Waking From the Dream

Chapter 43: Waking From the Dream

Kitsu looked up in awe at the sky where just moments ago the two deities had been battling. Without a doubt, he knew that the one shrouded by an aura of darkness was the same demon that they had fought earlier- apparently almost directly below where Kitsu now stood, since the two beings had burst out of the ground a short distance away. The origin of the other spirit, the guardian with the aura of pale blue wings on its back, remained a mystery to him. Was it like the demon, sealed within its stone prison until somebody came along to release it? Was it just coincidence that such a powerful force had been present when the demon was awakened?

Was it somehow involved with Link? Kitsu couldn't explain the feeling that he had something to do with it, even if Link himself didn't realize it. Whether the spirit just happened to be there at the time or if it was waiting to be summoned, nobody else but Link could have brought it forth. The young warrior carried with him a feeling of great…something. Not power, although there was plenty of that. Fate, maybe. Wherever Link went throughout his life, he would doubtless be the thread binding events together.

Sounds around him brought Link to consciousness. Every muscle in his body ached like nothing he had ever felt before. Strangely enough, he felt as though all of his burdens had been lifted. He sat up, and the sounds around him suddenly shifted into a horrid dissonance. He pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his knees. Not very comfortable for his sore body, but the sounds became clearer until he could recognize distinct voices.

"Is he going to be okay?"

"How should I know that? I can't even remember what happened to _me_, much less what happened when he appeared out of nowhere."

"You didn't hurt him, did you?"

As hard as he tried, Link couldn't manage to put names to the voices. His sight was reduced to observing the blurred outlines of objects. He tried calling out to them. He couldn't tell whether or not they heard him. He couldn't imagine how they _didn't_ hear him, since his voice was all to clear in his own ears. A dreadful rasping sound, as if he hadn't said anything in years.

"He's awake," one of the voices said. "Get him some water."

Cool liquid touched his lips. His eyes had recovered enough by then that he could confidently count the number of silhouettes standing in front of him- there were two.

"Who's there?" he tried to ask. His voice was still atrocious, but the water had helped.

"It's me," one replied, "Kitsu."

"Morris," the other told him.

"The others…"

"Ritsuki's going to be alright," Kitsu explained. "He woke up a little while ago, although he's sleeping again now. His injuries weren't as severe as they looked at first."

"Tunasri?"

"Dead," Morris said immediately. His voice was even more devoid of emotion than ever- or was it just Link's hearing that made it seem that way.

"You don't know that for sure," Kitsu interrupted. "We found no body, no armor… hell, we couldn't even find any of his _blood_."

"The room was sealed," Morris pointed out coldly. "No way in or out, meaning that he's still in here, if there's even anything left of him."

"He's still alive," Kitsu insisted, and Morris chose not to pursue the issue any further. Link's head was spinning. Tunasri, dead? It couldn't be true. Still, no way out…

"It j-" Link's sentence was interrupted by a fit of coughing. He brought his hand away from his mouth and realized that he was beginning to see better, since his eyes firmly told him that the palm of his hand was red. "It means Tunasri must have found another way out." He wondered who he was trying to convince. Morris, who allowed himself to be persuaded by no judgment other than his own? Kitsu, already adamant in the belief that there had been no casualties?

Himself? He had never fought on a team like this before, where everybody risked their lives in combat. Was he that dependant on reassurance that they had still won the fight, that their group was still the same size it had always been?

"What now?" he asked.

"We think that you're supposed to go on alone," Kitsu informed him. "We both tried to approach that door, but neither of us could get close to it."

"Why me?"

"It's probably spelled to respond to whoever defeats the demon," Morris theorized. "In this case, you."

"I did what now?"

"Link, are you okay?" Kitsu's voice was overflowing with concern.

"I didn't beat the demon," Morris reasoned. "Kitsu and Ritsuki were above ground and didn't manage to get back down here until after the demon was already dead."

"I don't remember anything," Link admitted. "I warped down here just in time to get knocked into a wall, and I lost consciousness after that. I couldn't have fought that thing."

"Ha!" Kitsu exclaimed. "Now try telling me Tunasri didn't survive! He beat that thing and is probably just beyond that door!"

"Extremely unlikely," Morris commented.

"What are you doing?" Kitsu exclaimed. Link was up and already halfway to the door. "What if you have to fight again?"

"I won't," Link explained. "I just have a feeling about this." Before they could stop him, he walked the remaining distance to the stone door. Behind him, Kitsu ran after him, but encountered resistance. For a moment it seemed as though he had stopped, then he was thrown backward onto the floor. Link took no notice of it, continuing on through the door that slid open without him ever touching it.

Immediately behind the door was a set of stairs, spiraling up and to the right. He followed them, until he finally came to a shrine of sorts. The light in the chamber was from the sun, trapped into a vein of quartz until it reached all the way from the surface above to this chamber. Directly in the center of the room was an altar, upon which sat the corpse of the demon. As he watched, the body dissolved into dust and crumbled away. The light coming from above intensified.

_Go to the shrine of Khizha_

It was not a voice, but simply knowledge. Link only had to look at the altar and he _knew_ what he must do.

_There you will find the path to the land chosen by the Goddesses._

Once again, he simply _knew_ this as a fact; for anything else to be true would just be outrageous. At the same time, he knew that the altar had revealed it would ever tell him. He turned down the stairs, but changed his mind halfway down. He backtracked to the altar.

On the stone shrine, where the demon's body had once been laid out, there was a single object. It was a mask. The top of the mask was covered in silver-colored hair, while the face was adorned with red and blue war paint. As he stared at it, he heard a voice in his head, different from the altar, but familiar nonetheless.

_Take with you the power of the war god,_

_For as long as you carry the angel within you_

_You need not fear the temptations of the devil._


	45. Chapter 44: The Final Farewell

Chapter 44: The Final Farewell

The people of Dai Tennimo continued walking through the streets as though nothing monumental had happened. The women still went from stall to stall in the marketplace, buying food for their families. Children still ran freely through the streets. None of the simple villagers who lived there realized that a fierce battle had just been fought on their behalf.

Yet things _were_ different. Even if their lives had not changed much, the monstrous beings no longer came down from the mountains to terrorize their existence. The people were calmer, less tense. For the first time in a while, they held hope for the future.

Nobody in Dai Tennimo would ever recognize the strangers who walked through their streets as the people who had saved them. They would be considered strange while they remained within the walls, but only because they were outsiders. The moment they passed through the gate, they would be forgotten.

For one of the anonymous heroes, there would be no recognition at all. Tunasri's body had never been found, and he failed to appear in the following weeks while the weary warriors recovered from their battles. It was enough that even Kitsu grudgingly admitted that it was unlikely he would ever be seen again. When the survivors asked what the villagers wanted as a memorial for their fallen warrior, they were answered with blank looks and questioning voices. Not one of them had ever heard the name Tunasri.

Finally, Darren the guard captain learned of their inquiries.

"I don't really know where he came from," the captain informed them. "He would just show up randomly and fight with us, then leave just as suddenly. Never stayed in the village." The lack of knowledge made Link think about just how well anybody had known the knight. His birthplace, family… all of that remained a mystery, one that would remain unsolved for the rest of time. Thinking back, Link found he couldn't even remember the man's face. Had he even seen him with his helmet off, or was he just that unremarkable?

In the end, they simply placed a stone against the outside of the town wall, carved only with the name of the man it memorialized. There was no formal gathering to remember him, but each of the remaining Protectors and Darren stood by the marker. Link was the last one to leave.

_This is the end, then? _he thought. _Have you reached your final resting place at last? You came to us claiming a desire to purge the land of evil, but I know you better now. You came to us because you didn't belong to anywhere else. You came in search of people like you. I have also felt the way you felt, and the only difference between us is that you have found your resting place, while I still search for mine. Goodbye, my brother, and may you rest in peace._

"I've been thinking," Ritsuki announced when they had all gathered at the inn after giving Tunasri the final farewell, "This time I would like to go with Link and Kitsu."

"Are you sure?" Link asked. "Don't you have a sister to take care of?"

"Karina is fairly capable of taking care of herself. Besides, Morris will be there to watch over her for me."

"I do not recall agreeing to do any such thing," Morris protested.

"Come on, when are you going to stop wandering around and come back to the village?" Ritsuki asked. "Karina really misses you after all these years, you know."

Link looked back and forth between the two of them. "Did I miss something?" he whispered to Kitsu, who was seated next to him.

"Morris lived in Duun Sedoro for a few years," Kitsu explained quietly. "He raised Ritsuki and Karina from when their parents died until Ritsuki was able to care for himself."

More things Link hadn't known about his companions. Was it ever possible to truly know another person?

"You should settle down for a while, Morris," Link told the archer. "We won't leave Kiasha without coming back to see you first."

"Whether you come back or not means nothing to me," he replied. "You people are nothing but trouble." He turned and went back to his room as if he wanted to never see them again, but the other three knew that when morning came, he would still be there, and that he would go on to return to Duun Sedoro.

Ritsuki left the room, returning shortly afterwards with a large, cloth-wrapped object. "I meant to give this to you earlier," he apologized as he handed it to Link. "In fact, that's why I came here in the first place, but I didn't get a chance to give it to you." Link removed the cloth. Beneath it was a masterfully done shield, coated with a mirrored surface.

"Just like your old one," Kitsu remarked. "Except for the coat of arms, of course." The shield was blank, for which Link was privately grateful. The old shield had borne the image of a face in silent agony, which had more than once given him the impression that tortured souls were imprisoned within the shield.

"If you want, we can find someone to put a design on it," Ritsuki suggested.

"Leave it," Link decided. "Until I return to Hyrule, there is no single nation that I will give my undying allegiance to."

The next morning, they set out toward the shrine of Khizha.

"Take care, Morris," Ritsuki called back. "You'd better not mess around with my sister while I'm gone."

"Isn't she a little young for him?" Link asked.

"She is, and it'd better stay that way." They continued a light-hearted, joking conversation, but Link couldn't distract himself from the sense of urgency he felt. He was only one step away from the path to Hyrule.

**Author's Note:**** This chapter marks the end of the Dai Tennimo saga. I have a slightly longer list of people to thank here than at the end of the last saga, so please bear with me for a bit. Here goes:**

**Thank you to Branwenn-Wolf, Dr.Dead, Incredible Disappearing Random, Neenjapoof, Shelik, Poet Bucky, Sir Aaron, simbiot2.0, twilightinthedark, and vactrox for considering this story among their 'Favorites'**

**Thank you to Evanlicious, tikitikirevenge, BlueIrish, Evil Riggs, UltSpideyfan83, and Bob D. Johnson for taking the time to review my story. **

**I don't know when I'll be able to start the next part of the story. Right now I only have vague concepts as to what I'll be doing, so I will likely take some time to work that out. Thank you for being patient with me.**


	46. Chapter45: Journey to the Forgotten City

Chapter 45: Pilgrimage to the Forgotten City

The caravan of pilgrims slowly worked its way east. Whether they were mounted, on foot, or in wagons, the people continued moving all day, steadily working toward their destination. Some talked amongst themselves, while others traveled in deep thought and silent meditation.

Toward the rear flank of the group, three pilgrims mounted on horses made no attempt to communicate with the others. The three wore the traditional clothing of the pilgrims: a plain brown cloak with a hem that fell somewhere between the feet and the knees, depending on how tall the wearer was. Although the cloak was not required to make the pilgrimage to Dekk Amorini, most of the travelers wore it for the sake of tradition. The three near the back of the group, on the other hand, wore it for its plain, unremarkable look.

"What's the purpose in us wearing these things, anyway?" one of them, a ten-year old boy, asked. "We don't really have to hide from anybody."

"Kitsu said we need to hide ourselves, Link," another replied. This one was barely twenty years old, with black hair that reached halfway down his back, although at the moment it was tied at the base of the neck and tucked underneath the back of his cloak. "Since he's the one with the most experience traveling in this area, we're going to listen to him when he tells us something."

"I said we need to move carefully, Ritsuki," the third corrected. His lower face was revealed, something that Link still hadn't gotten used to after seeing it covered up all of the time for the majority of the time they had known each other.

"Isn't that what we're doing?" Ritsuki inquired.

"I meant that we should keep our eyes open. Traveling with this group was a good way to avoid the monsters that live out on these plains, but we're making the other pilgrims fairly suspicious of us. Most pilgrims don't carry oversized swords on their backs."

"I couldn't leave it behind," Link protested. "We might need it."

"Just be careful, okay?" Kitsu asked. "Look out for anything that might be trouble out on the plains, but watch the other travelers a little too. People get nervous around people who carry large weapons, and nervous people don't act rationally. In a few more days we'll arrive at Dekk Amorini, and then we can finally get away from this crowd."

"I thought you said there was nothing out this way," Link remarked to Kitsu. "Why didn't you mention that there was a city out here?"

"He didn't mention it because Dekk Amorini isn't a city," Ritsuki explained. "Hundreds of years ago, Dekk Amorini was a city just like the others, but there was a sudden increase in the number of monsters in this region of Kiasha. A lot of the people who lived in the city got killed or carried off, and everybody else ran off and moved to Diis Evera and Dai Tennimo. The only people who ever come this way these days are people who want to take a pilgrimage out this way."

"Are all of these people going to the shrine of Khizha?" Link wasn't really keen on the idea of sticking with the mass of people all the way to their destination.

"No, just to the Amorini Temple," Kitsu answered. "The shrine is only about a day's worth of travel to the north of the city, but most pilgrims don't journey there anymore because the road has gotten fairly dangerous in the last few decades."

"Will we have a problem?" Ritsuki inquired, concerned. "I didn't decide to come out here with you guys just so I could have a priest bring my ashes back to Karina in a clay pot."

"Nobody goes that way, so I can't say for sure," Kitsu told them. "I was planning on talking to the priests at the temple before we leave for the shrine, since they should know what it's like out there better than anybody else."

"Priests?" Link asked.

"Maybe priest isn't the most accurate term," Kitsu admitted. "They don't really act as servants of any particular god, although there are a small number that do act as such. Their real job is to cast enchantments out in the plains that stop too many monsters from coming west into the populated areas of Kiasha at one time. They maintain the temple and some of the more accessible shrines though, so everybody refers to them as priests."

"What gods does Kiasha have, anyway?"

"Beats me," Kitsu answered unhelpfully. "I hate talking to mystics. They're always trying to convince you that the god that _they_ worship is far superior to the other gods, despite the fact that all gods have more or less equal power to the others…it's just a lot easier to ignore them."

"There was a shine to Ikkoh next to the barracks in Dun Sedoro," Ritsuki informed him. "Ikkoh is the patron god of the warriors, so there were some guardsmen who would visit the shrine right before going on watch duty."

"You didn't do that?"

"I had other places to pay my respects to, remember? Besides, if I can't defend the village with my own strength, I don't think Ikkoh would find me worthy of his time."

"What about Khizha?" Link asked. "Is he one of your gods too, or is that just the name of the shrine?"

"Don't know," Ritsuki answered.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to ask the priests when we get to the temple." Link said optimistically. "They should know, and it might help us to expect what kind of trials we might face when we get to the shrine."

"Trials?" Ritsuki asked. "We're just visiting a shrine, not fighting our way into a fortress."

"Trust me, it's never 'just a shrine' when there's something important. There _will_ be trials guarding the shrine, and it would be nice if we could have a little bit of knowledge beforehand instead of just charging in blindly and getting ourselves killed."

"I still think that you're over thinking the whole thing. What do you think, Kitsu?"

"Huh…I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

"Are you okay, Kitsu?" Link asked. "You seem a little out of it."

"I'm fine," he responded. "I just think I've heard the name 'Khizha' before, and I've been trying to remember where."

"Can you give us a general idea of what it might be?"

"I think I have it narrowed down to one thing, but I _really_ hope that I'm wrong."

"What is it?" Ritsuki asked.

"A few years back, I ran into somebody while I was staying in Diis Evera. I'm fairly certain that he was a follower of Khizha."

"So Khizha's one of the gods of Kiasha, then?" Link asked. "Can you remember what he's the god of?"

"This is where I really hope I'm wrong," Kitsu told them. "The man I met was an assassin, and he worshipped Khizha because Khizha is the god of death. From what he told me, getting into the shrine is going to be practically impossible for us."


	47. Chapter 46: Lost Childhood

Chapter 46: Lost Childhood

"I didn't think it would be so well preserved," Link remarked as they rode into Dekk Amorini.

"What do you mean?" Ritsuki asked.

"Except in a few places, the buildings aren't damaged in any way," Link clarified. "It looks like everybody who lived here just decided to leave and not come back."

"What were you expecting, it's not like there was a war here," Ritsuki explained. "The monsters that came through here were probably more interested in attacking people that they were in destroying buildings for no reason."

"There would still be _some_ signs of fighting," Link pointed out. "Hasn't anybody considered this before?"

"There was no fighting," Kitsu responded. "The monsters that live in the east are not living, and therefore they cannot be killed. Many people died when they first arrived, anybody who was left alive was smart enough to get out while they could."

"Are the monsters still out there?" Ritsuki asked. "Will we run into them?"

"One of the things the priests do out on the plains is cast spells that specifically ward away those specific monsters," Kitsu explained. "They won't be near the city or the shrines, with the exception of the shrine of Khizha."

"The one we're going to," Link remarked. "_Naturally_."

"If we're luck, they're the worst that we'll run into," Kitsu continued, ignoring Link. "Then again, I suppose an invincible enemy that we've never heard of before isn't really any more deadly than an invincible enemy that we know all about."

"Are you sure there's no way to beat them, Kitsu?" Ritsuki asked.

"That was one of the things I would like to ask the priests about, but I highly doubt that we'll be able to do anything more than banish them for a short period of time, if we can even accomplish that much." He reined in Macha and dismounted.

"I'll see if I can speak with someone," Kitsu announced. "You two should stay here to watch the horses."

"Can I help you, young man?" an old man in robes asked him as he searched.

"You are one of those who work here?" Kitsu asked.

"Yes," the man replied, "I am Yara, a servant of Nayru."

"The Hylian goddess?" The old man nodded his head in agreement. "Why are you here, of all places?"

"I fled Hyrule when the Evil King began to make his bid for power," he explained. "It wasn't very noble of me, but there's no use in dwelling on the past. I was welcomed here by the other priests, so I decided to remain where I can be of use."

"Do you remember how to return to Hyrule?" Kitsu asked. "We're looking for a way to return, so anything you know might be the thing that helps us."

"Regrettably, I have no recollection of how I arrived here," Yara answered. "No doubt a combination of my aging memory and the lack of Kiashan geography at the time I arrived here, but I cannot tell you anything of usefulness."

"I see."

"Pardon me, but…you have come from Hyrule, correct?" the priest asked. "Might you have news of our homeland? Does the Evil King still reign, or has the royal line returned to the throne?"

"I don't know," Kitsu replied. "My parents were from Hyrule, but I was born in Kiasha and have never been to Hyrule. My companion has recently come from there, though, and if you want I could bring him-"

"I would rather that you didn't," Yara interrupted. Kitsu looked at him sharply. "There is nothing of use that I can tell your companion, and were I to talk with your him, I would be tempted to leave this land and return to the land of my birth. I have found a place here in this land, and I do not think that I could withstand a journey in my old age. This will be my place of death."

"I see. Well then, could you tell me what you know about the shrine of Khizha?"

"Death awaits those who journey there."

"Death awaits those who live, but the ones who go forth into the world with knowledge may be able to hold off death until the time of their choosing."

"I like your thinking, boy," Yara said with a laugh. "Go away. To seek the shrine of death is to seek death itself. There are those who say that even talking about journeying there will bring misfortune to you. Return to your home, live another decade or two."

"Though I have never been there, my home _is_ Hyrule. My friend has never had any home but there. If there is a chance that the shrine of Khizha may hold the key to our return, than we _will_ go."

"Than I can do nothing for you, except to pray to Nayru for your safe return. There is no knowledge about the shrine, except to a select few, and those few are harder to find than the shrine and much more dangerous, in their own way. If you return, it will truly be a miracle."

"My friends and I will be leaving, then," Kitsu said. "I am sorry to have bothered you." He turned to go.

"Boy, there is one last thing you should hear." Kitsu stopped to listen once more to the old man. "I've not lived in this land for very long, but I've had the chance to meet a few Hylians here. I didn't ask them how they got here, because I wasn't interested in leaving. Some of them couldn't remember how to get back themselves."

"Are you trying to tell me that this is impossible too?" Kitsu asked.

"There is one case that I've heard of, in which a young girl managed to return to Hyrule."

"A young girl… do you remember her name?"

"I never met her myself, but the information came from a source that I trust. No girl ever came to the shrine of Khizha in search of a way out of this land, so you and your companion can still turn back and find a way out."

"I thank you for your warning, but this is something we feel that we must do," Kitsu told him.

"This warning comes at a price."

"Isn't it a bit unfair to tell me that after giving the warning?"

"This price has no effect on you," Yara assured him. "Do not tell your companion about my origin, and do not let him meet me."

"Why not?"

"As I said earlier, I have no desire to return to Hyrule," the priest explained. "Still, if your companion learns about me, he will want to speak with me himself. Such an encounter would do nothing for him, but it would bring me a great deal of pain. You may choose to follow or disregard my advice as you will, but please permit me this single selfish request."

"I will tell him only that I met with a priest," Kitsu promised.

"May Nayru give her blessings to you and your companions, child."

Kitsu returned to where Ritsuki was waiting with the horses. Link was standing off to the side, surrounded by a few children who were unsuccessfully trying to get him to join in their games.

"Back already?" Ritsuki asked. "Did you learn anything useful?"

"Yeah. Give up."

"Slim chance of that happening," the swordsman commented. "I was hoping that we could actually do this with the faintest idea of what we would be up against."

"The priest was under the impression that we would be better off to leave and try to find some Hylians," Kitsu reported. "They're fairly rare here, but it shouldn't take too long."

"Link wouldn't agree to that," Ritsuki said regretfully.

"No, he'd do it," Kitsu corrected. "But he would still insist on going to the shrine."

"He looks like he should fit right in, doesn't he," Ritsuki commented, looking at Link and the other children. "Kids shouldn't have to fight for their lives."

"He chose this life."

"Kids shouldn't have to make choices like that, either. He should be living with his parents, training for whatever type of work he'd be doing for the rest of his life and living his childhood. _You_ should be like that too."

"I guess we were never destined to be children. You grew up fairly quickly too, if I remember correctly."

"I grew up so that my sister wouldn't have to rush through her childhood. You matured because…"

"I was born mature," Kitsu finished. "I never had the chance that even you and Link got to have."

"You still haven't told Link about that, have you? He'll find out eventually."

"I'll tell him when he asks about it."

"You should tell him before then," Ritsuki suggested. "I think that he would appreciate that." Off in the distance, Link saw them and began approaching them, so Kitsu was unable to respond.

"Did you learn anything?" Link asked when he arrived.

"No, but we've waited here long enough," Kitsu answered. "Tomorrow morning, we leave for the Khizha shrine."


	48. Chapter 47: The Eastern Plains

Chapter 47: The Eastern Plains

The road that led north out of the ruins of Dekk Amorini was completely deserted. This was naturally to be expected, but after traveling in the midst of a caravan, it was a stark contrast. For miles to either side of the path, there was nothing to distinguish the land. Nothing…yet the fear that there really was _something_ out there never quite went away. With every step of the horses that took them closer to their destination, there was the fear that beyond the bluffs, hidden in the occasional clusters of nondescript trees, or concealed in the tall grasses that covered the prairie further out, there was something waiting for them. The three travelers were alert at all times.

"Something's not right here," Ritsuki remarked around midday. "We haven't encountered anything yet."

"Is that unusual?" Link asked. Of the three members of the party, he was the least experienced when it came to the lands of Kiasha, but that didn't stop him from realizing that it can't be a good thing when a region that should have been filled with monsters is found to be completely deserted. He nervously began to scan the horizons for anything threatening.

"I can't really say for sure," Kitsu informed him. "Since nobody ever really comes out here, there's really no way to say what's usual or what isn't."

"Maybe the monsters only live in the area right around the shrine itself." Ritsuki suggested. It didn't really matter, since the three of them would continue to remain alert no matter what explanation they came up with for the lack of resistance so far. "There's nothing else out here, so the only people who come this way are the ones who go all the way to the shrine anyway."

"Maybe." Kitsu sounded less sure of himself with each possibility that came up.

The trio rode on, and they began to notice changes in the landscape. The occasional clumps of trees became rarer, and the trees themselves seemed twisted and misshapen. The grasses had gone from a brownish-golden colour to an unhealthy-looking shade of grey, and even the rugged bluffs of the land around the ruins had turned to jagged outcroppings of rock that appeared sporadically in the middle of the plains. In short, the terrain had gone from looking uninviting to appearing downright hostile. Several hours after midday, things got much, much worse.

The trail so far had remained clear. Not that it really mattered, since there was nothing significant to impede progress in the area, but it helped to serve as a guide to reassure them that they were still traveling the right way to reach the shrine. When the three of them first set out from Dekk Amorini, they stayed on the trail because of the possibility of things hiding within the grasses. Now, it seemed as there would certainly be something within, and so to do anything other than remaining on the trail was unthinkable. Unfortunately, there was no trail anymore. On one side of a narrow crevasse, things were much as they had been for the past mile. A few wooden planks were laid across the gap as a sort of primitive bridge, and after that…nothing.

"What do we do now?" Ritsuki asked in frustration.

"I don't know." Kitsu looked out over the vast expanse of land before them. While the land was flat in the sense that the elevation didn't change much out among the plains, the ground was now so full of crags, fissures, and outcroppings that it was impossible to reliably see anything farther away than a mile. Far in the distance, the northern mountains were visible, but other than that there was no reliable indicator of where anything could be.

"Stay here," Link remarked. He dismounted and walked out onto the planks that bridged the gap.

"What are you doing!?" Ritsuki exclaimed, "It could be dangerous out there!" Link paid his warning no heed, only turning around once for a moment, as if to reassure his companions that he would be careful.

"He'll be fine on his own," Kitsu remarked.

"Why are you dismounting, then? Are you planning on going with him?"

"Of course not. Link probably knows what he's doing out there, and at this point it's not like we know anything more than he does about this region." He looked out thoughtfully at the plains in question for a second, then drew two of the slender daggers that he carried with him. "It doesn't hurt to be prepared to back him up, though," he commented. Ritsuki also dismounted and readied his sword.

At this time, Link was standing still on the center of the plank bridge, gazing out into the grasses that waved gently in the afternoon wind. Like everything else, the wind had gone from a moderately pleasant breeze to a warm one that only added to the unpleasantness of the region. Link seemed oblivious to the things that were going on around him, however. Just a few moments later, a crystal that seemed to be composed of pure light encompassed the adventurer as he spoke the strange words that would call upon the goddess Nayru to lend him her strength. With the divine light shielding him from harm, Link stepped out into the plains.

While Link was taking his first few steps onto the northern side of the crevasse, his two companions were intently watching him, holding their breaths as they waited for something to happen. They knew the power of the goddess, they knew that Link was more or less impervious to harm at the moment…but still, they knew that the forces that existed out in this region of Kiasha were nothing to be taken lightly. If something were to happen, they planned on being ready for it. After venturing only a few yards into the vast expanse of grass, Link returned to the path on the other side of the bridge.

"Well, nothing attacked me," Link remarked. "I think we can travel safely through the grass."

"You mean we'll be as safe as we've been so far," Ritsuki corrected. "Just because nothing's attacked us yet, that doesn't mean it still won't. I'd feel a whole lot safer if I could at least see the ground I'm standing on while we're traveling."

"I'm more worried about the lack of direction," Kitsu brought up. "We could wander around out there for days and never find the shrine of Khizha, there'd be no guarantee that we'd be able to find our way back once we're out there… we'd be helpless if something decided to show up."

"What if we were to burn the grass down?" Link asked. "We'd be a lot harder to surprise, that way."

"No." Ritsuki responded adamantly. "Didn't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The grass started waving around when you suggested that," he explained.

"It was probably just the wind," Link countered.

"What wind?" Kitsu pointed out. The other two turned to stare at him, for indeed the wind had died down in the time that the three of them had been talking. Across the crevasse, the grass continued to wave about as if the land to the north of the gap were subject to entirely different weather than the ground where they were standing right then.

"No fire." Link remarked. "What do we do, then? Should we just go out and try to get it over with? It can't be that much worse over on that side than it is here."

"I'd really rather not unless we could find a path," Kitsu told them. "I have a feeling that it may look peaceful now, but being out there in the middle of the night seems like it would be a really bad idea."

"Do you want us to camp here, then?" Rituski inquired.

"I have a feeling that being anywhere on these plains during the night is a bad idea," Kitsu corrected. "I don't think that there's really any option here that's better than the others."

They set up to wait out the night on the path right there. It grew progressively darker as night approached, but none of them dared to light a fire that could possibly draw enemies to them. Luckily, the moon was full that night, and even as the sun sank down past the horizon out beyond the western mountains, the silver light of the moon illuminated the fields. Across the crevasse, the vast expanse of grass seemed to glow with incandescence in the light of the moon.

"Kitsu," Link called. Without bothering to explain any further, he pointed out towards the field. As the other two turned to see what he was looking at, they saw only the moonlit plains.

"What is it?" Ritsuki asked, confused. "Did you see something out there?"

"Look closely," Link explained. Kitsu did so, trying to see what his companion was trying to indicate. As hard as he looked, he saw only the grass.

"There's nothing there, Link," he remarked. "It's just the grass."  
"I know!" Link exclaimed. "The grass!"

He started moving his arm slowly, indicating a sort of path through the endless plains. Kitsu went over to where Link was standing so that he could better see what was being pointed at. He looked out and saw the grass. By now, the light of the sun was almost completely gone and seeing anything was nearly impossible. To make things worse, the area Link was pointing at was _naturally_ the part of the field with the least amount of light shining on it. How could anybody be expected to see anything out there?

Suddenly, Kitsu froze as everything that Link had been getting at hit him at once. His companion hadn't been pointing at something in the grass: he had been pointing at the grass itself. Starting directly across from the bridge and extending out into the distance, there was a section of the field that looked darker than the rest by moonlight. Winding its way out towards the northern mountains…

"It's a path!" he shouted.

"yeah," Link remarked. Suddenly Kitsu felt rather foolish, since he was only now realizing what Link had seen from the beginning. _You could have at least been a little more helpful,_ he thought.

"I think I see it as well," Ritsuki added, "I can't make it out very well in the distance, though."

The three of them stood there, looking at the path as the contrast became greater in the light of the moon. All three of them knew what would have to be done for them to continue, but they remained silent, as if they were afraid to suggest the inevitable. They knew they were afraid because the grass out in the field was no longer waving in the light of the moon. It was now obvious that the grass off of the trail was brighter because it was causing its own light. No longer the harsh grey colour it had been during the day or the gentle silver it had appeared under the light of the moon, the grass was now radiating a sinister colour that seemed to be some shade of yellow, but with the slightest hint of green to make the light unnatural and foreign.

"Should we get going?" Kitsu asked timidly. The mere sight of the incandescent field was enough to make the three accomplished adventurers worry about the upcoming stage of their journey. There was no hope of making the trip mounted- the horses refused to go anywhere near the unnatural plains before them. Giving up and leaving their mounts behind, they warily walked forward into the field, taking great care not to venture off of the path of darkness.


	49. Chapter 48: The Secret of the Plains

Chapter 48: The Secret of the Plains

The fields went on for what seemed to be the entire length of the land of Kiasha. To make things worse, the path wound about just enough that it was impossible for the travelers to be able to tell which way they would be going. The three of them were especially nervous because, despite the difficulties that they had had in their attempts to find the path to the shrine of Khizha, they hadn't yet encountered any resistance. As a result, they were on constant alert, searching the grasses for anything that could possibly be a threat.

The silence that surrounded them seemed oppressive, yet none of them were brave enough to be the one who would break the silence. Each of them knew that they might only have a slight warning before they were attacked, and that even a quiet rustling of the surrounding grass could make the difference between life and death if they were paying attention. As such, they continued along on their nervous journey.

"Run!" Kitsu yelled suddenly. A brief discoloration of the light emanating from the surrounding field was the only warning he had of the impending attack. Immediately behind them, pale blue flames danced through the grass. Strangely, the grass itself remained unharmed by the fire, but none of the adventurers were willing to stick around long enough to see if it would have the same effect on them.

As the trio ran away, the rushing flames slowed to a halt and converged back to form a single concentrated pillar of flame. After a brief moment in which it seemed as though the fire were searching for its prey, it moved again, spreading itself out to cover a wide area. When the flames once again missed them, they slowed down and converged into a single column again. There was no doubt in the minds of any of the travelers: the flames were actively seeking them out.

Link led the way down the trail, desperately hoping that they could reach the shrine soon. The flames continued their pursuit, coming close to singeing them several times. Oddly, there was no heat radiating from the fire.

"Kitsu, look out!" Ritsuki yelled. He shoved the boy forward, knocking him into Link. A second later, the pale fire shot between them, directly through the spot where Kitsu would have been if the older warrior hadn't intervened.

"We can't continue on like this!" Link shouted once they started running again. There was no noise from the flames either- only an eerie silence. Even the wind was still, although the grass around them continued to wave about as though there was a strong breeze.

"We don't have much of a choice!" Kitsu shouted back. "We can only hope that it'll give up and stop after awhile."

"It'll catch us long before that!" Link yelled. "Can't we fight it or something?"

"How the hell would we do something like that!?"

"Link! To your right!"

Link started to look in the direction Ritsuki indicated, but something caught his eye first. In front of him and slightly off to the left, the flames were gathering together for another strike. Making sure he could still keep an eye on it out of the corner of his eye, he glanced over where Ritsuki told him to look. It was fortunate that he did, because the flames were already coming at him from that direction.

_Two_ patches of fire? Link grabbed Ritsuki and Kitsu and pulled the two of them close to him. A moment later the flames reached them, but the travelers were unharmed as the flames danced angrily against the crystal of blue light that had formed around them.

"Thanks, Link," Ritsuki remarked.

"Don't mention it," he responded. "Hurry, let's get as far as we can before it wears off." The three of them set off down the path at a swift pace down the trail, moving as fast as they could without tiring themselves out in the process.

"What are we going to do about those?" Ritsuki asked.

"I don't know," Kitsu answered. "If we don't find the shrine soon, we're going to be in trouble. I don't think Link can keep this up for too long." Indeed it seemed that Link was getting visibly more fatigued each time the flames came into contact with his barrier.

"You don't have any ideas at all?"

"None. I honestly doubt that throwing a knife at those things is going to slow their progress noticeably."

"Guys, look!" The two of them looked where Link was pointing. Up ahead of them, the trail passed by a rocky outcropping greatly overshadowed the others.

"Is that the shrine?" Ritsuki asked.

"It's something," Kitsu said optimistically. "At the very least-" He was cut off as several of the numerous flames that now surrounded them rushed at them all at once. With no hope for the group to dodge, the flames crashed into the barrier. Link let out a short yell of pain before he collapsed to his knees on the ground, gasping. The barrier flickered a few times before vanishing entirely. They were now completely exposed.

Within seconds, another of the patches of fire was bearing down on them. Kitsu was able to drag Link out of its path at the last second, but when he looked up he learned that Ritsuki hadn't fared so well. The swordsman had managed to step out of the way of the immediate threat, but in the process he stumbled and fell off of the trail into the incandescent grass to the side. For a moment nothing happened. Nothing. The grass stopped waving about in the nonexistent wind, and even the flames seemed to have halted their attacks for the time being. A second later, all of that changed. The light radiating from the grass immediately surrounding Ritsuki went from being a greenish-yellow colour to being a dull, sooty red. The kind of red that is reminiscent of dried blood. Like ripples on the surface of a pond, the colour of all of the tall grass in the field changed until it was the same shade of red. The sound was unbelievably horrible. It took Link a moment to realize that the sound was Ritsuki screaming in pain. The flames had reappeared, and their columns were growing even higher. It was obvious that their next attack would be devastating.

"Do something!" Kitsu shouted. As the flames began their attack, Link rushed forward to the point on the trail closest to his screaming companion. His arm inadvertently brushed up against the blood-coloured grass, causing pain unlike anything that he'd ever felt before. Yanking his arm back, he began speaking. A moment later, a dome of bright red fire materialized around him for a few seconds before blasting outwards with massive force.

The grass was unaffected by the fire, but the force of it knocked it all flat against the ground, freeing Ritsuki from its horrible effects. At the same time, the ghostly blue pillars of fire were halted in their advance. The spell failed to disperse the flames entirely, but for a few seconds they seemed to be slightly disoriented.

"Run!" Link yelled, "get to the shrine!" A second later he collapsed, forcing Kitsu to rush forward to prevent Link from falling onto the grass. It was slow going from there, since Link had exhausted himself during the fight and was incapable of moving without the help of Kitsu, and Ritsuki was barely in a good enough condition to help himself, although he didn't seem to be hurt physically from his ordeal in the field. Still, Link's fire spell had bought them enough time that they were able to make it to the rocky outcropping long before the flames resumed their activity.

"Are you okay?" Kitsu asked as he laid Link down against one of the rock features jutting out from the ground. Link had lapsed into a state of near-unconsciousness, where he seemed slightly responsive but not particularly alert to anything that didn't immediately affect him.

"I'll manage," Ritsuki answered. He raised a hand to rub his neck and winced. The grass's resistance to fire had seemed to protect him from the effects of Link's spell as well, except for a spot on his neck where the heat had managed to raise blisters. They didn't seem to be particularly life threatening, but they were rather painful… although still nothing compared to what he had just felt.

"What was it like?" Kitsu asked.

"It felt like I was impaled on a thousand spears, all at the same time," he recalled. "It felt like every part of my body died at the same time, and I had to feel every last thing."

The two of them fell silent as they waited for Link to recover. Out on the plains, the grass had returned to its previous colour while they hadn't been looking. The flames had also disappeared, although occasionally they would catch a glimpse of a patch of grass that seemed to carry a slightly bluish tinge to it, as though the living fire was still out there, patrolling the plains for additional outsiders. As they waited out the rest of the night, their eyes kept glancing back towards the giant iron door on the side of a rock formation opposite them. The shrine of Khizha…they'd arrived at last.


	50. Chapter 49: Keeper of the Shrine

Chapter 49: Keeper of the Shrine

The first thing Link saw when he woke up was the great iron door leading into the shrine. Despite the portal's lack of ornate decoration, it still somehow managed to inspire awe and fear in the few travelers who managed to survive this far out into the wilderness. The surface was perfectly solid, yet still gave the impression of slight rusting and extreme age. Needless to say, it was not really the most confidence-inspiring thing to wake up to.

"…don't think that's really necessary, Ritsuki,"

"And I'm telling you, it is. It doesn't matter how many times we have this argument, we both know that I'm going to win it in the end."

"You can let yourself believe whatever you want, but that won't make it come true."

"It will eventually, and you'll agree with me once it does."

"I think that the chances of that happening are even less likely. This discussion is over." The was the sound of Kitsu getting up, and a moment later he strode into Link's field of view. "Are you ready to go?"

_When did he realize I was awake?_ Link struggled into a sitting position. He still felt a little light-headed and weak, but it was nothing life-threatening. Hopefully, they were past the hardest of the obstacles, because Link knew that he wouldn't be able to contribute to a fight for a short while, and Ritsuki probably wasn't at his best for the moment either. From his past experiences, he knew that to hope for something like that would be unreasonable.

"What were the two of you talking about?" he asked.

"It was a minor disagreement," Kitsu responded, not giving Ritsuki any time to answer. "We dealt with it for now, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Are we ready to go?"

"As long as you're ready," Ritsuki remarked. "Alright, how do we get in?"

Link took a moment to look at the door. There was no obvious handle, nor were there hinges or a crease to indicate that the slab of iron was intended to split into two halves anywhere. The door did feature two vertical rectangles where the surface of the door was slightly depressed, so it seemed logical that the split would be between the two areas. Still, even with those as a guide there wasn't a crack to be found. After a minute or so of searching, he finally gave up.

"Kitsu? Do you have any ideas?"

"Why me?" the other boy responded. "I've never been here before."

"Yeah, but you still know more about this place then either of us," Ritsuki pointed out. "So, can you shed any light on this?"

"Stand back," Link interrupted. The two of them looked at him rather strangely, but Link was already digging through his pack. Having found what he was looking for, he returned to the door.

"Are you…" Link cut off Ritsuki's inquiry with a glance in his direction then returned to his task.

"Move!" he urged the other two. He grabbed the arm of Ritsuki, who was still staring at the door, and pulled him around to the other side of the rock formation. A few seconds later, the sound of an explosion rang out though the early morning air. A few small rock fragments dislodged themselves from the larger formations, raining down and pelting the three adventurers.

"Alright, it should be safe now," Link observed. He walked back to the door.

"Are you insane!?" Ritsuki shouted. "You used a _bomb_ to open a door."

"Did it work?" Link asked Kitsu, ignoring Ritsuki's remarks.

"Not even a scratch," the other replied.

"Maybe we need more bombs…"

"No! No more bombs! You'll probably end up collapsing the shrine before you actually get that door open."

"Ritsuki's right on this one," Kitsu added. "The first explosion didn't even leave a mark on the door, so anything else after that probably wouldn't make much of a difference."

"You'll never know until you try," Link countered.

"Are you always this impulsive?" the other boy asked. "How about we try thinking this through a little before we go and waste all of our explosives."

"Okay, we'll do it your way, then." Link leaned back against the rock formation behind him. "So, what would your idea be?"

"Give me a second, okay?"

"What about Link's sword?" Ritsuki offered.

"What about it?"

"Maybe the door will respond if Link draws it."

"It probably won't," Kitsu commented. "The shrine's supposed to be open to anybody, so it wouldn't be keyed to a relic like that."

"But it might act as a secondary mode of access, right? If the sword is so important, than whoever wields it would probably be here on important business, and they'd have some kind of magic here to make the door open automatically."

"I don't know Ritsuki, that seems kind of involved…" Kitsu said skeptically.

"But it won't hurt to try it," Ritsuki pointed out, "And our only other option so far is to let Link see how many bombs it takes to make a good-sized hole in the door."

"Try it," Kitsu agreed. Link walked over to the door and drew the massive weapon.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Try touching the sword to the door," Ritsuki volunteered. Link complied, but there was no visible effect on the iron barring their way forward. Frustrated, Link swung the sword as hard as he could at the door. There was a loud clanging sound as the two metallic objects collided with each other and sparks flew out from the point of impact, but there was no other effect on the door as far as Link could tell. Well, his hands were stinging, but the door was unaffected.

"Did you see that?" Kitsu asked Ritsuki.

"See what?" The young warrior turned back to Link.

"Push it," he instructed.

"What?"

"Put away your sword, put your hands on the door, and push."

"It's not going to do anything," Ritsuki predicted. "The sword didn't do anything, and neither did the bombs, so I don't think that a simple push is going to work."

Kitsu walked past Link, who's hands were still sore, and up to the door. He experimentally put one hand on the iron slab and tried moving the door. After a few seconds of nothing happening, he shifted to push against the door with his shoulder. For another few seconds, it seemed that this attempt would be no more successful that any of the other tries, but then the half of the door that Kitsu was working on began to slowly swing inward.

"It's working!" Ritsuki exclaimed as he moved forward to give a hand in opening the door to the shrine. It took a little while, but they eventually were able to make the gap wide enough that they could slip through. As they stopped pushing, the door slowly began to swing back the other way, closing behind them as they entered the room beyond.

"Why did that work when the other stuff didn't?" Link asked.

"There was a little bit of resistance when we were pushing the door," Kitsu explained. "The door actually did move a little when you hit it with your sword, but it wasn't enough to let us in and the door started moving back to its original position almost immediately. We had to put force on it for a long time for it to actually open enough to be useful."

"That's what you were trying to point out, wasn't it?" Ritsuki observed. "You saw the door move a little when Link swung the sword at it."

"Yeah. Next time, let's try to open doors in a conventional manner _before_ we start looking into the more exotic methods, shall we?"

With the obstacle surmounted, they turned their attention to the room. Light was coming from a series of torches mounted high on the walls, allowing them to view the chamber. The walls were carved directly into the stone with no brickwork of any sort covering it. It was not far to the other side of the room, but it was still a decent distance, and Link estimated that the rock walls surrounding them were never much thicker than a few feet. The opposite end of the room featured a simple wooden door in the center of the wall, flanked by a pair of simple wooden braziers.

"Are you two ready?" Link asked. His hands were recovering now, so he held his sword at ready as he walked toward the door. Behind him, Ritsuki and Kitsu were likewise prepared in case something were to happen. They arrived at the door without incident, and passed through to the next chamber.

Unlike the first room, which had featured a high ceiling and as much open space as the size of the rock formation would allow, the chamber beyond the wooden door was small and cramped. All of the light in the room shone from a single torch on the wall opposite the entrance. Other than the torch, the only other feature was a wooden trapdoor beneath the torch. Grabbing the iron ring embedded into the surface of the door, Link pulled it aside to reveal a set of stone stairs.

The room below the trapdoor was roughly circular, with the stairs running along the outer wall of the chamber. It was a good distance to the bottom, although Link wasn't quite able to make a good estimate as to how far it was. Needless to say, a fall from this height would certainly result in a rather unpleasant death. The fact that there was no rail of any kind along the edge of the steps was not a very comfortable thought.

As they got closer and closer to the base of the stairs, they were able to make things out more clearly. The center of the room was occupied by what appeared to be an altar of some sort. The sides of the altar seemed to be completely random, which had caused the trio to assume at first that it was merely a rock of some sort, but as they progressed it became more obvious that while the shape of the altar didn't make sense to any of them, the shape was deliberate and far from random. Surrounding the altar was a perfectly circular pool of water. They realized as they came close to the bottom that the water in the pool was perfectly clear, and the only reason they had even detected its presence in the first place was because of the torchlight reflecting off of it.

One last thing that had been hidden from them was the size of the altar. They knew that the chamber was a good distance across, and had seen how much space the altar took up from higher in the tower, but they didn't connect the two facts until they were stepping off of the last step onto the floor of the room. The altar wasn't merely large across: the highest surface of it was easily two or three times as tall as Ritsuki.

"Now what?" Ritsuki asked. There were no doors into the chamber as far as they could tell, so this was as far into the shrine as they could go.

Link wandered toward the altar. There was no barrier or any kind holding in the water, so it must have collected naturally around the rock due to a slight incline in the floor of the chamber. He was hesitant at first to step into the water, but found that there was no ill effect to doing so. He wondered if there would be anything that he encountered on a daily basis that he wouldn't be suspicious of by the time he returned to Hyrule. He reached out and placed his hand on the altar, trailing his fingertips along the surface. The material seemed to be obsidian, and as a result it was smooth.

"Are you sure it's okay to touch that?" Ritsuki pointed out. Still, Link didn't withdraw. He instead looked up at the altar, with its many surfaces leading up to the summit. There still wasn't much sense to their placement, but as he looked harder he managed to find a series of ledges that headed up to the top. Moving cautiously to make sure that he edges between facets weren't sharp, his made his way up. It took a bit of work, but eventually he managed to make it to the top. Looking from the top of the altar, he could see the room around him without obstruction. There was still no way out that he could find.

"You have made it to the altar," a voice remarked from behind him. Link spun around to face the speaker. It was a man, clad in wicked-looking obsidian armor. The man's head bore no helmet, although the armor had protrusions on the back and shoulders that seemed to serve as minor protection. Instead, the man's eyes were bound with plain cloth.

"Who are you?" Link asked.

"I am one who understands death, just as you," the man remarked. "If it were not so, we would not have made it to this place."

"All I did was go up where I thought I saw a path," Link admitted.

"Understanding and comprehending are not the same, though they often go hand in hand," the armored man remarked. "If you had tried to comprehend the pattern of this altar before ascending, you would have kept me waiting a long time. The same is true of death: while comprehension is impossible, that does not mean that there can be no understanding."

"Are you a priest?"

"I am the current keeper of this shrine. When another comes, my burden will be relieved and I will be on my way."

"I came to this place because I seek a certain path," Link explained. "I was told that I would find my answers here."

"There are no answers in this place, young one," the keeper replied. "This place is but one of many gates that will lead to the answer you seek."

"Where is this place where I can find the answers, then?" Link asked.

"It is here and everywhere. If you wish to know an answer, then you must consult with the dead. Are you prepared?"

"I am," Link replied without hesitation. "Tell me, what must I do in order to consult with the dead?"

"To speak with the dead, one must send another who is dead," the keeper remarked with a wicked grin. "Tell me, which of your companions is to be sacrificed?"


	51. Chapter 50: Sacrifice

Chapter 50: Sacrifice

"Sacrifice!?"

The keeper of the shrine looked at him oddly. "Yes, that is correct. Which of you is to die in order to fulfill the contract with Khizha?"

"Nobody is going to get sacrificed!" Link exclaimed.

"Fair enough. I hope that whatever information you were seeking wasn't too important." The keeper sat down in a meditative position and ceased to show any sign that he even knew Link was there. Frustrated, Link made his way back to the base of the altar.

"What happened?" Ritsuki asked when he reached the bottom. "We heard you yelling up there, but it was hard to make out what you were saying. Did you meet with the priest?"

"We're going," Link told them. He started immediately for the steps back to the surface. It would be very tiring, climbing all the way back up, but there was no point in delaying it any longer than necessary. No, more like the sooner the three of them left the shrine, the better off they would be.

"Link, wait up for a second!" Kitsu called after him. A short while later, the other boy came up to join him, stopping a few steps below where Link stood. "What's going on?" he asked. "Just because we found out where to go next doesn't mean we have to push ourselves getting there. It's okay if we slow down a little."

"We didn't find out where to go," Link informed him. "We're going to go elsewhere to figure out what we should do next." He tried to resume his trek towards the exit, but Kitsu grabbed him by the wrist and held him back.

"What's with you?" he asked. "Before now, you were adamant that we had to come here in order to find the path to Hyrule. Now that we've finally managed to get here, we're not going to leave unless we manage to get a solid lead on where to go after this."

"At what cost, Kitsu?! How many people are going to die from our attempt to get to Hyrule? I'm not going to let there be any more sacrifices."

"Sacrifices?" Without saying another word, Kitsu turned and started returning to the bottom of the chamber. Link was about to head off back to the top, where he could wait for the other two, but something was bothering him. Instead of ascending the stairs, he turned in the other direction and followed Kitsu to the altar.

"Is everything okay?" Ritsuki asked as the two of them passed him. They ignored him, with Kitsu heading straight for the altar and Link following. Kitsu began to climb to the summit of the altar, but Link stopped him.

"What are you planning on doing?" he demanded.

"Regardless of what the price is, we need information," Kitsu explained. "If we can't learn what we need without a sacrifice, then there might be something else that the priest can tell us. If that isn't possible… well, then we might have to sit down and think about our alternative options."

As much as Link wanted nothing to do with the shrine of Khizha, he had to admit that Kitsu had a point. He walked around the altar until he managed to find another spot that looked like it led to the top and started climbing. He reached the highest surface a fraction of a second before Kitsu, despite the fact that the other boy had enjoyed a good head start on Link.

"Have you made your decision?" the keeper asked without looking at them. "If you have decided on the sacrifice, then I shall prepare for the ritual."

"No sacrifices, Akhra," Kitsu responded.

"I knew that you would appear one day, little one. My dreams have told me of our reunion, it was only a matter of how long it would be."

"It wasn't really a priority of mine," Kitsu said. "And since when have you cared about dreams? You sound like a priest."

"As the keeper of the shrine, there is not much for me to do except sit and dream," Akhra explained. "Fortunately, the time when my successor will come is also soon."

"Who is this?" Link whispered to Kitsu.

"I am Akhra, Keeper of the Shrine of Khizha," the sitting man answered.

"I met him in Diis Evera a few years ago, when I first left Duun Sedoro," Kitsu explained. "For a short while, we worked with each other, but then he went off to journey elsewhere, and I didn't want to get too far from the village."

"Can we trust him?" Link asked suspiciously.

"We seek a way out of Kiasha, Keeper Akhra," Kitsu said, speaking directly to the seated man. "Is there any aid that you can give us?"

"I cannot," the blindfolded man answered. "I cannot, but Khizha knows many things. If you ask him, you will certainly find an answer."

"We'd like to find a way without any of us dying."

"Your life," the man said, speaking in a flat tone. "Your past. Your present. Your future. Khizha works in ways that are unknowable to men. He may spare you your life, for he has many already, or he may take it as his own."

Link and Kitsu exchanged glances. "I'll do it," Kitsu volunteered.

"No," Link insisted. "I said that I would get you to Hyrule, so it's my responsibility to make whatever sacrifice is necessary."

"You won't get me anywhere if you're dead!"

"He said it might not kill me," Link pointed out.

"He didn't say for sure that it wouldn't. You can't be sure that you have that good of a chance to come out of this alive."

"It doesn't matter," Link told the other boy firmly. "There is a chance, so it's good enough for me." He stepped away from his companion and towards the seated shrine keeper.

"Are you prepared?" the man asked.

"Yes," Link replied confidently. _I hope so, anyway._

At Akhra's instructions, Link removed his equipment and tunic, laying them aside. He then seated himself at a place on the altar as Akhra went to retrieve some items for the ritual.

"Are you nervous?" Kitsu asked him.

"A little," Link replied. It seemed like it would have been foolish to try to hide something like that. At the same time, he felt a little at ease, and was even a little eager. After weeks of aimless wandering and searching, things were finally going to start moving. They were going to be able to go home at last, and no amount of nervousness could fully put a damper on that feeling.

"There's no need for you to do this," the other boy reminded him. "You're not alone, I'd take the sacrifice for you if you'd let me…"

Link let his silence be the answer. He would not allow himself to be talked out of this, not when they were so close to finding the answers that they needed.

"I see…" Kitsu turned to descend from the altar, knowing that Akhra wouldn't let him remain up there while the ritual was being performed. As he reached the edge, he turned back one last time. "Try not to die, Link."

Link watched the other boy slowly sink out of sight below the edge of the stone. When Kitsu was out of sight, he turned to find that Akhra had already returned, and was patiently waiting.

"Are you prepared?" the priest asked. When Link nodded his approval, he sat behind the boy, holding something in his hands. As he began speaking softly in a strange language, Link felt a cold sensation against his bare back. It shifted from place to place, leaving only a faint chill behind where it had once been. He tried to make sense of the pattern it was tracing, but could only get the sense that it was related somehow to the pattern of the altar. Something was making his head feel light and hindering his ability to concentrate.

* * *

"Is he really going through with it?" Ritsuki asked. The two of them were stationed on the stone steps, allowing them to see what was going on as the blind priest traced designs on Link's back with some dark substance. Akhra's chanting had now grown loud enough that they could make it out clearly, although neither of them knew the language in which the chants were being spoken.

"I couldn't convince him otherwise," Kitsu replied mournfully.

"Would you have let yourself be talked out of it if it was you up there?"

"Self-sacrifice is pointless,"

"But you would have done it anyway." It wasn't a question.

"Of course I would have," Kitsu conceded. "That's me, though. This is different."

"And I'm sure that Link feels the same way about it," Ritsuki concluded.

"So Link gets to have his way, while I'm left just following his lead?"

"You can't have the both of you sacrificing yourselves for each other. _That_ would truly be pointless."

"So there's no way to decide fairly?" It was an irrelevant point, since the decision had already been made, but anything was good if it could take their minds off of what might be coming up. "_You_ could make the choice, Ritsuki… unless you plan on offering yourself instead."

"Nah, nothing of that sort," Ritsuki remarked. "I've got Karina, so I guess I'll just have to be selfish and refrain from sacrificing myself anytime soon."

"What are you going to do when we get the answers we need?" Kitsu asked. The conversation had taken a serious turn, since this was something that had been nagging at the back of Kitsu's mind for quite some time now.

"I don't know. I can't leave her alone…but I don't want to force her into a journey that could be long and dangerous. She deserves better than that."

"As do we," Kitsu added. "That girl irritates me to no end, and we're much better off traveling without her."

"You're treading on dangerous ground, friend," Ritsuki warned him angrily. "Besides, she tries to get close to you because you keep everybody else so far away. There's an easy way for you to hold off her attentions, but I trust that you've already been made aware of my opinions on that particular matter."

"My answer is still the same," the young warrior responded flatly. There was a brief pause where the two of them said nothing, filled only with the ever-louder chanting of Ahkra. "I suppose that this is goodbye, then," Kitsu said, breaking the silence. "We'll go on to Hyrule, while you'll stay behind to live your life out here."

"It's the way it had to be," the swordsman remarked. "But it's not goodbye yet. I may not be able to go with you forever, but I'll stay with you until I can go no further."

"Until we can go no further together, then," Kitsu agreed, watching with Ritsuki as the priest took a glossy black dagger and plunged it into Link's back.


End file.
